Electronic payment system, payment apparatus and terminal thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic payment system for making electronic money payments for transactions. A payment terminal stores a balance of electronic money for payment on a dealing by electronic money. A demanding terminal communicates with the payment terminal to demand the payment and a payment apparatus communicates with the demanding terminal and stores a balance of electronic money to correspond to an identification number of the payment terminal for allowing settlement on the dealing. The demanding terminal receives from the payment terminal the balance stored in the payment terminal and transmits the balance to the payment apparatus. The payment apparatus detects an improper use by checking the balance stored in the payment terminal, which was received from the demanding terminal, with the balance stored in the payment apparatus. The system of the present invention provides secure and convenient electronic money payment for a user&#39;s transaction.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This is a continuation application of PCT/JP99/05219 filed inJapan on Sep. 22, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to an electronic payment system, apayment apparatus and terminals thereof for electronic moneytransactions or financial dealings. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to processing payments by electronic money byvalidating the payments to prevent improper and fraudulent use.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] In a conventional electronic payment system in which the paymentson dealings are made by electronic money, there are possibilities offalsification and unfair use of the electronic money. Thus, the systemwas configured to use an improved encryption technique in order toprevent the disclosure of information regarding the electronic money, orto record the information regarding the electronic money on an IC(integrated circuit) card so as to allow the use and deposit of theelectronic money only via an exclusive IC card reader.

[0006] The conventional electronic payment system using electronicmoney, described above, has a problem in that the exclusive IC cardreader or a complicated authentication and encryption procedure isrequired so as to enhance security in order to prevent the falsificationand unfair use of the electronic money, thus giving up the convenienceof electronic money.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0007] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide asafe and convenient electronic payment system using electronic money,which is capable of overcoming the above drawbacks accompanying theconventional art. The above and other objects can be achieved bycombinations described in the independent claims. The dependent claimsdefine further advantageous and exemplary combinations of the presentinvention.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, anelectronic payment system that makes electronic money payment relatingto a dealing, comprises: a payment terminal operable to store a firstbalance of electronic money for the electronic money payment relating tothe dealing; a demanding terminal operable to communicate with thepayment terminal to demand the payment; and a payment apparatus operableto communicate with the demanding terminal and to store a second balanceof electronic money to correspond to an identification number of thepayment terminal for validating the payment, wherein the demandingterminal receives from the payment terminal the first balance stored inthe payment terminal and transmits the first balance to the paymentapparatus, and the payment apparatus detects unfair use of theelectronic money by checking the first balance stored in the paymentterminal, which was received from the demanding terminal, with thesecond balance stored in the payment apparatus.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention, anelectronic payment system for making payment on a dealing by electronicmoney, comprises: a payment terminal operable to store a first referencenumber for electronic money for making payment on the dealing by theelectronic money; a demanding terminal operable to communicate with thepayment terminal to demand the payment; and a payment apparatus operableto communicate with the demanding terminal and to store a secondreference number to correspond to an identification number of thepayment terminal for allowing settlement of the payment on the dealing,wherein the payment apparatus updates the second reference number inaccordance with a predetermined update rule, the payment terminalreceives the update rule of the second reference number from the paymentapparatus and updates the first reference number in accordance with theupdate rule, and in a case where the demanding terminal received fromthe payment terminal the first reference number stored in the paymentterminal and then transmitted the first reference number to the paymentapparatus, the payment apparatus checks the first reference number,received from the demanding terminal, with the second reference numberstored in the payment apparatus to detect unfair use of the electronicmoney.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a paymentapparatus that communicates with a payment terminal and a demandingterminal to make settlement on an electronic money payment for adealing, the payment terminal being operable to store an electronicmoney balance for making payment on the dealing by the electronic money,the demanding terminal being operable to demand the payment on thedealing, the payment apparatus comprises: a memory unit operable tostore a check balance of the electronic money to correspond to anidentification number of the payment terminal; a communication unitoperable to receive, from the demanding terminal, a payment amount ofthe electronic money to be paid by the payment terminal; and a processoroperable to update the check balance of the electronic money stored inthe memory unit based on the payment amount received from the demandingterminal.

[0011] In a case where the communication unit received from the paymentterminal a deposit-requested amount of the electronic money, theprocessor may update the check balance stored in the memory unit basedon the deposit-requested amount, and the communication unit may transmita new balance, obtained by the update, to the payment terminal.

[0012] The communication unit may receive the electronic money balancefor making payment on the dealing, when the deposit-requested amount ofthe electronic money is received from the payment terminal, and theprocessor may compare the electronic money balance the communicationunit received from the payment terminal with the check balance stored inthe memory unit, may transmit the new balance to the communication unitwhen the compared balances coincide, and may notify a manager of thepayment apparatus of a warning indicating a possibility of unfair usewhen the compared balances do not coincide.

[0013] The communication unit may receive from the demanding terminalthe electronic money balance for making payment on the dealing, which isnotified from the payment terminal, when the communication unitreceives, from the demanding terminal, the payment amount to be paid bythe payment terminal, and the processor may compare the electronic moneybalance the communication unit received from the demanding terminal withthe check balance stored in the memory unit, may update the checkbalance stored in the memory unit when the compared balances coincide,and may notify a manager of the payment apparatus of a warningindicating a possibility of unfair use when the compared balances do notcoincide.

[0014] In a case where the communication unit received a balance inquiryrequest from the payment terminal together with the electronic moneybalance for making payment on the dealing, the processor may compare theelectronic money balance the communication unit received from thepayment terminal with the check balance stored in the memory unit, andmay transmit a warning indicating a possibility of unfair use when thecompared balances do not coincide.

[0015] The communication unit may transmit a balance inquiry request tothe payment terminal and may receive the electronic money balance formaking payment on the dealing from the payment terminal, and theprocessor may compare the electronic money balance the communicationunit received from the payment terminal with the check balance stored inthe memory unit, and may notify a manager of the payment apparatus of awarning indicating a possibility of unfair use when the comparedbalances do not coincide.

[0016] The memory unit may store a term of validity in relation to theelectronic money, and in a case where the communication unit receivedthe payment amount of the electronic money from the demanding terminal,the processor may not update the check balance of the electronic moneystored in the memory unit based on the payment amount, and may notify amanager of the payment apparatus of a warning indicating a possibilityof unfair use, when a time that has passed after a start time, at whichthe communication unit transmitted, to the payment terminal, the newbalance of the electronic money based on the deposit-requested amount,has gone beyond the term of validity.

[0017] The memory unit may store an update time in relation to theelectronic money at which the check balance of the electronic money waslast updated based on a previous payment amount, and in a case where thecommunication unit received the payment amount from the demandingterminal, the processor may not update the check balance of theelectronic money when a predetermined time has not passed after theupdate time based on the previous payment amount.

[0018] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a paymentapparatus that communicates with a payment terminal and a demandingterminal to make settlement on an electronic money payment for adealing, the payment terminal being operable to store a check referencenumber for the electronic money for making payment on the dealing, thedemanding terminal being operable to demand the payment on the dealing,the payment apparatus comprises: a memory unit operable to store areference number of the electronic money to correspond to anidentification number of the payment terminal; an operation unitoperable to update the reference number in accordance with apredetermined update rule; a communication unit operable to receive,from the demanding terminal, the check reference number of theelectronic money, which the demanding terminal was notified from thepayment terminal; and a processor operable to compare the referencenumber stored in the memory unit with the check reference numberreceived from the demanding terminal to validate the electronic money.

[0019] In a case where the communication unit received a deposit requestfor the electronic money from the payment terminal, the communicationunit transmits the update rule for updating the reference number to thepayment terminal. The update rule may uniquely determine the referencenumber based on an initial value and time information to providedifferent reference numbers for different initial values or differenttime information. The time information may be a time that has passedafter a start time at which the communication unit transmitted theupdate rule to the payment terminal. The initial value may be anirrational number, and the update rule may select a number at a decimalplace of the irrational number as the reference number, the decimalplace being determined based on the time information.

[0020] The memory unit may store a number corresponding to the number oftimes the payment terminal performed dealings using the electronicmoney, the number being stored to correspond to the identificationnumber of the payment terminal, and the update rule may uniquelydetermine the reference number based on an initial number and the numberof times the payment terminal performed dealings in such a manner thatthe reference number is different when the initial value or the numberof times is changed.

[0021] The memory unit may store a term of validity of the electronicmoney, and in a case where the term of validity has expired, theoperation unit may change the update rule, the communication unit maytransmit the changed update rule to the payment terminal, and theprocessor may update the term of validity stored in the memory unit.

[0022] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a recordingmedium storing a computer program that enables communication with apayment terminal and a demanding terminal for making settlement on anelectronic money payment for a dealing, the payment terminal beingoperable to store an electronic money balance for making payment on thedealing, the demanding terminal being operable to demand the payment onthe dealing, the program comprises: a storing module that enables acomputer to store a check balance of the electronic money to correspondto an identification number of the payment terminal; a communicationmodule that enables the computer to receive, from the demandingterminal, a payment amount of the electronic money to be paid by thepayment terminal; and a processing module that enables the computer toupdate the check balance of the electronic money based on the paymentamount received from the demanding terminal, wherein the communicationmodule enables the computer to receive the electronic money balance fromthe payment terminal when receiving a deposit-requested amount of theelectronic money from the payment terminal, and the processing moduleenables the computer to compare the electronic money balance receivedfrom the payment terminal with the check balance, transmit a new balanceobtained by the update when the compared balances coincide, and notify amanager of the computer of a warning indicating a possibility of unfairuse of the electronic money.

[0023] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a recordingmedium storing a computer program for enabling communication with apayment terminal and a demanding terminal to make settlement on anelectronic money dealing, the payment terminal being operable to store acheck reference number of electronic money for making payment on thedealing by the electronic money, the demanding terminal being operableto demand the payment on the dealing, the program comprises: a storingmodule that instructs a computer to store a reference number of theelectronic money to correspond to an identification number of thepayment terminal; an operation module that instructs the computer toupdate the stored reference number in accordance with a predeterminedupdate rule; a communication module that instructs the computer toreceive from the demanding terminal the check reference number of theelectronic money, which the demanding terminal was notified from thepayment terminal; and a processing module that instructs the computer tocompare the stored reference number with the check reference numberreceived from the demanding terminal to validate the electronic money,wherein the update rule uniquely determines the stored reference numberbased on an initial value and time information in such a manner that thestored reference number is changed when the initial value or the timeinformation is changed.

[0024] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, ademanding terminal that communicates with a payment apparatus, whichsettles electronic money payment on a dealing, and a payment terminal,which makes electronic money payment on the dealing, the demandingterminal, which demands the payment on the dealing, comprises: a firstcommunication unit operable to communicate with the payment terminal andto receive a check reference number of the electronic money from thepayment terminal; a second communication unit operable to communicatewith the payment apparatus, to transmit the check reference number ofthe electronic money to the payment apparatus, and to receive a resultof a validation of the electronic money; and a processor operable tocalculate a payment amount of the electronic money to be paid by thepayment terminal and to make the second communication unit send thepayment amount to the payment apparatus, in a case where the secondcommunication unit received a signal indicating that the validation ofthe electronic money was successful.

[0025] The processor may make the first communication unit send thepayment amount to the payment terminal in a case where the secondcommunication unit received the signal indicating that the validation ofthe electronic money was successful, and the processor may make thesecond communication unit send the payment amount to the paymentapparatus in a case where the first communication unit received aconfirmation signal for the payment amount from the payment terminal.

[0026] The first communication unit may receive, from the paymentterminal, an electronic money balance, for making electronic moneypayment on the dealing, stored in the payment terminal, and the secondcommunication unit may send the electronic money balance stored in thepayment terminal to the payment apparatus for validating the electronicmoney balance stored in the payment terminal with a check balance forthe electronic money, stored in the payment apparatus.

[0027] The first communication unit may communicate with the paymentterminal by optical communication or short-distance communication toreceive from the payment terminal an identification number foridentifying the payment on the dealing, and the second communicationunit may communicate with the payment apparatus via a telephone line ora private communication line to send the identification number to thepayment apparatus.

[0028] In a case where the first communication unit received from thepayment terminal information regarding a start point, at which a user ofthe payment terminal started to use the electronic money, the processormay calculate the payment amount based on a distance moved by the userfrom the start point.

[0029] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a paymentterminal for communicating with a payment apparatus, which is operableto store a balance of electronic money for making settlement on adealing by the electronic money, and a demanding terminal, which isoperable to demand the payment on the dealing, the payment terminal,which makes the electronic money payment on the dealing, comprises: afirst communication unit operable to communicate with the paymentapparatus and to receive, from the payment apparatus, the balance of theelectronic money stored in the payment apparatus; a memory unit operableto store the balance of the electronic money received by the firstcommunication unit; a second communication unit operable to communicatewith the demanding terminal and to receive a payment amount of theelectronic money from the demanding terminal; and a processor operableto update the balance of the electronic money stored in the memory unitbased on the payment amount.

[0030] The first communication unit may receive the balance of theelectronic money from the payment apparatus in a case where adeposit-requested amount of the electronic money was sent to the paymentapparatus.

[0031] The second communication unit may send the balance stored in thememory unit to the payment apparatus for validating the balance, whensending the deposit-requested amount of the electronic money to thepayment apparatus, and may receive a new balance from the paymentapparatus in a case where the validation of the balance was successful.

[0032] The second communication unit may send the balance stored in thememory unit to the payment apparatus when a predetermined time haspassed after a time at which the new balance was received from thepayment apparatus, and may receive a result of the validation of thebalance.

[0033] The memory unit may store a term of validity of the electronicmoney, and the processor may notify a user of the payment terminal thatthe electronic money is unavailable in a case where a time that haspassed after a start time, at which the second communication unitreceived the new balance from the payment apparatus, has gone beyond theterm of validity.

[0034] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a paymentterminal that communicates with a payment apparatus and a demandingterminal to make payment on a dealing using electronic money, thepayment apparatus stores a reference number of the electronic money formaking settlement on the dealing by electronic money, the demandingterminal demands the payment on the dealing, the payment terminalcomprises: a memory unit operable to store a check reference number ofthe electronic money; a first communication unit operable to communicatewith the payment apparatus and to receive from the payment apparatus anupdate rule for updating the check reference number stored in the memoryunit; an operation unit operable to update said check reference numberstored in said memory unit in accordance with said update rule; and asecond communication unit operable to communicate with the demandingterminal and to send the check reference number, after being updated bythe operation unit, to the demanding terminal.

[0035] The first communication unit may receive from the paymentapparatus the update rule for updating the check reference number in acase where a deposit-requested amount of the electronic money is sent tothe payment apparatus. The update rule may uniquely determine the checkreference number based on an initial value and time information in sucha manner that the check reference number is changed when the initialvalue or time information is changed. The time information may be a timeperiod that has passed after a time at which the update rule wasreceived by the first communication unit. The initial value may be anirrational number, and the update rule may select a number at a decimalplace of the irrational number as the check reference number, thedecimal place being determined based on the time information.

[0036] The memory unit may store a number of times that dealings usingthe electronic money were performed, and the update rule may uniquelydetermine the check reference number based on an initial value and thenumber of times that dealings were performed in such a manner that thecheck reference number is changed when the initial value or the numberof times is changed.

[0037] The memory unit may store a term of validity of the electronicmoney, and in a case where the term of validity has expired, the firstcommunication unit may send a change request for the update rule to thepayment apparatus and may receive a changed update rule from the paymentapparatus, while the operation unit updates the term of validity storedin the memory unit.

[0038] The first communication unit may communicate with the paymentapparatus by wireless telecommunication, and the second communicationunit may communicate with the demanding terminal by opticalcommunication or short-distance wireless communication to send anidentification number for identifying the payment terminal to thedemanding terminal.

[0039] The second communication unit may receive from the demandingterminal start point information regarding a start point at which a userof the payment terminal starts to use the electronic money, the memoryunit may store the start point information, and the second communicationunit may send the start point information to the demanding terminal sothat the payment amount is calculated based on a distance moved by theuser from the start point, in a case where the user finishes using theelectronic money.

[0040] According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, acommunication adapter, to which a payment terminal for making electronicmoney payment on a dealing is attached, whereby the payment terminalcommunicates with a charging system for a toll road, the communicationadapter comprises: a detection unit operable to detect an electric wavesignal transmitted from the charging system; and a control unit operableto make the payment terminal, attached to the communication adapter,communicate with the charging system by wireless communication to sendthe charging system a check reference number of electronic money storedin the payment terminal for validation of the electronic money, in acase where the electric signal from the charging system was detected.

[0041] The communication adapter may further comprise a soundnotification unit operable to generate a first sound for notifying aresult of the validation of the electronic money, in a case where theresult of the validation of the electronic money was received from thecharging system.

[0042] The payment terminal may send a balance of the electronic moneyto the charging system, and the sound notification unit may generate asecond sound for notifying a shortage of the balance of the electronicmoney, in a case where the shortage of the balance was notified from thecharging system.

[0043] According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, apayment terminal for communicating with a charging system of a toll roadto pay toll by electronic money, comprises: a memory unit operable tostore a check reference number of the electronic money; a detection unitoperable to detect an electric wave signal transmitted from the chargingsystem; and a communication unit operable to communicate with thecharging system to send the check reference number, stored in the memoryunit, to the charging system, in a case where the detection unitdetected the electric wave signal.

[0044] The summary of the invention does not necessarily describe allnecessary features of the present invention. The present invention mayalso be a sub-combination of the features described above. The above andother features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the following description of the embodiments taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0045]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic payment systemaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0046]FIG. 2 shows an exemplary appearance of a register terminal 10 inFIG. 1.

[0047]FIG. 3 shows an appearance of a mobile phone as an example of auser's terminal 20 in FIG. 1.

[0048]FIG. 4 shows an appearance of a hand-held device with acommunication function as another example of the user's terminal 20 inFIG. 1.

[0049]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a synchro server 30 inFIG. 1.

[0050]FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the register terminal 10in FIG. 1.

[0051]FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the user's terminal 20 inFIG. 1.

[0052]FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an electronic money deposit process ofthe electronic payment system according to the first embodiment.

[0053]FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a user information inquiry process 204 inFIG. 8.

[0054]FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a user authentication process 206 inFIG. 8.

[0055]FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a balance inquiry process 214 in FIG. 8.

[0056]FIG. 12 explains an exemplary update rule for a reference numberaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0057]FIG. 13 explains another exemplary update rule for the referencenumber according to the present invention.

[0058]FIG. 14 explains still another exemplary update rule for thereference number.

[0059]FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a balance inquiry by the user's terminal20 in FIG. 1.

[0060]FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a balance inquiry by the synchro server30 in FIG. 1.

[0061]FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an update process for electronic moneyhaving an expired term of validity by the synchro server 30 in FIG. 1.

[0062]FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an update process for electronic moneyhaving an expired term of validity by the user's terminal 20 in FIG. 1.

[0063] FIGS. 19A-19G show exemplary screens of a display 802 of theuser's terminal 20 in FIG. 1.

[0064]FIG. 20 is a flowchart of an electronic money payment process ofthe electronic payment system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0065]FIG. 21 is a flowchart of an electronic money check process 110 inFIG. 20.

[0066]FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a process 114 in FIG. 20 for checking aspent amount and balance.

[0067]FIG. 23 is a flowchart of a limit check process 118 in FIG. 20.

[0068]FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a paying amount confirmation process 124in FIG. 20.

[0069] FIGS. 25A-25F show further exemplary screens of the display 802of the user's terminal 20 in FIG. 1.

[0070] FIGS. 26A-26E show exemplary screens of a register-side display702 of the register terminal 10 in FIG. 1.

[0071]FIG. 27 shows an appearance of a vending machine 16 in anelectronic payment system according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0072]FIG. 28 shows an appearance of a parking fee collecting machine inan electronic payment system according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0073] FIGS. 29A-29B show an appearance of a ticket inspector in anelectronic payment system according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0074]FIG. 30 is a flowchart of an electronic money payment process at aticket gate of a boarding station according to the present invention.

[0075]FIG. 31 is a flowchart of an electronic money payment process at aticket gate of an exit station according to the present invention.

[0076] FIGS. 32A-32F show further exemplary screens of the display 802of the user's terminal 20 in FIG. 1.

[0077]FIG. 33 shows an appearance of a communication adapter in anelectronic payment system according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0078]FIG. 34 shows an appearance of a tollbooth exclusive toll bar of atoll road in an electronic payment system according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention.

[0079]FIG. 35 shows a hardware configuration of a general computer 600according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are describedbelow, referring to the drawings.

[0081] (Embodiment 1)

[0082] An electronic payment system according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention is described. In the electronic payment system ofthe present embodiment, when a consumer buys goods at a retail store,for example, the consumer can make payment electronically by usingelectronic money. Hereinafter, the customer is called a user. As usedherein, electronic money is a generic term for digital currency.

[0083]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electronic payment system of thepresent embodiment. The electronic payment system of the presentembodiment includes a register terminal 10 as an example of a demandingterminal, a user's terminal 20 as an example of a payment terminal, asynchro server 30 as an example of a payment apparatus, a carrier server40, an authentication center 42, a user authentication database 44, aregister database 50, a deposit management server 54, a deposit database56, a user database 60 and a user's account database 70.

[0084] The register terminal 10 demands payment for dealings byelectronic money, while the user's terminal 20 makes the payment byelectronic money. The synchro server 30 communicates with the user'sterminal 20 via the carrier server 40, and communicates with theregister terminal 10 so as to make settlement of the payments fordealings by electronic money.

[0085] A communication line 18 connects the register terminal 10 and thesynchro server 30, and may be a telephone line or a privatecommunication line. A wireless communication transmission path 28 is anexample of a transmission path of wireless telephone communicationbetween the user's terminal 20 and the carrier server 40.

[0086] A communication line 38 connects the carrier server 40 and thesynchro server 30, and may be a telephone line or a private line. Ashort-distance communication transmission path 68 is one example of atransmission path to be used when the register terminal 10 and theuser's terminal 20 make short-distance communication with each other. Asa short-distance communication technique, optical communication, such asinfrared communication, or wireless short-distance communication, suchas Bluetooth, may be used.

[0087] The register terminal 10 calculates the price of the goods thatthe user bought at a retail store, for example, and charges the user forthe goods. FIG. 2 schematically shows an appearance of the registerterminal 10. The register terminal 10 includes a customer-side display700, a register-side display 702, a register body 704, a receipt lamp706, and an infrared communication unit 708 as an example of ashort-distance communication unit. Moreover, the register terminal 10has communication functionality by being connected to the synchro server30 via a telephone line or a private line, although the function is notshown in FIG. 2. The register terminal 10 can access the synchro server30 by dialup connection via the telephone line or by accessing a servergate via the private communication line.

[0088] The customer-side display 700 has a display part, such as aliquid crystal display (LCD), for displaying character information, onthe rear of the register terminal 10, thereby displaying the total ofthe prices of the purchased goods and/or stages in the electronicpayment process so as to notify the user. The register-side display 702displays stages in calculation of the prices of the goods and/or thestages in the electronic payment process.

[0089] The receipt lamp 706 is turned on in order to notify thatcommunication from the user's terminal 20, described later, is beingperformed. The infrared communication unit 708 performs infrared datacommunication with an infrared communication unit 808 (see FIG. 3) ofthe user's terminal 20 of the user. A wireless short-distancecommunication unit for performing wireless short-distance communicationby Bluetooth, for example, may be provided in place of the infraredcommunication unit 708 so as to perform wireless short-distance datacommunication with a wireless short-distance communication unit of theuser's terminal 20.

[0090] The user's terminal 20 stores electronic money and makes paymentsby electronic money on the goods purchased by the user. As an example ofthe user's terminal 20, a wireless phone device, such as a mobile phone,can be considered. Another exemplary user's terminal 20 is a hand-helddevice such as a PDA (personal digital assistant) or a notebookcomputer, that can perform communication by being connected to awireless communication device, such as the mobile phone.

[0091]FIG. 3 shows an appearance of a mobile phone that is an example ofthe user's terminal 20. The user's terminal 20 includes an antenna 800,a display 802, operating buttons 804, dial buttons 806, an infraredcommunication unit 808, and an electronic money button 810. The user'sterminal 20 communicates with the carrier server 40 by means of theantenna 800 via the wireless communication transmission path 28. Theuser's terminal 20 has a data-packet communication function and cantransmit/receive digital data. The display 802 displays characterinformation and image information transmitted/received by thedata-packet communication function.

[0092] The operating unit 804 are buttons used for selection of a menuor buttons displayed on the display 802. The dial buttons 806 are usedfor inputting a phone number, a password or the like. The infraredcommunication unit 808 performs data communication with the infraredcommunication unit 708 (note FIG. 2) of the register terminal 10. Theuser's terminal 20 may include a wireless short-distance communicationunit that performs wireless short-distance communication, for example,by Bluetooth, in place of the infrared communication unit 808, so as toperform wireless short-distance data communication with a wirelessshort-distance communication unit of the register terminal 10.

[0093] The user's terminal 20 is connected to the carrier server 40 bythe wireless communication transmission path 28. The carrier server 40is connected to the synchro server 30 by the communication line 38.Therefore, the user's terminal 20 can perform data communication withthe synchro server 30.

[0094]FIG. 4 shows a hand-held device 90 having communicationfunctionality that is another exemplary user's terminal 20 according tothe present embodiment. The hand-held device 90 can perform wirelesscommunication when connected to a mobile phone 92. A CCD camera 94 cancapture an image of the user's face or pupil or retina of an eye. Afingerprint detection pad 96 can capture an image of a fingerprint ofthe user.

[0095] The synchro server 30 can communicate with the user's terminal 20and the register terminal 10, and manage and perform the paymentoperations of the dealings between a retail store and the user. Thesynchro server 30 is connected to the register database 50 in whichinformation regarding various register terminals 10 is stored, the userdatabase 60 in which information regarding various user's terminals 20is stored, and the user's account database 70 in which informationregarding a credit account or a bank account is stored for each user,and retrieves necessary information from the respective databases.

[0096] Moreover, the synchro server 30 is connected to the depositmanagement server 54, so as to instruct the deposit management server 54to deposit electronic money, make payment by electronic money and thelike. The deposit management server 54 is connected to the depositdatabase 56, and can retrieve information such as a deposit amount ofelectronic money of the user, the balance, a reference number of theelectronic money, the term of validity of the electronic money and thelike.

[0097] The synchro server 30, the deposit management server 54, thedeposit database 56, the register database 50, the user database 60 andthe user's account database 70 may be provided in a network of a creditcard company or a bank. Moreover, only the user's account database 70may be provided in the network of the credit card company or the bank,while the synchro server 30 is connected to the user's account database70 via a private communication line.

[0098] A part or all of the functions of the deposit management server54 may be implemented in the synchro server 30. In order to simplify thefollowing description, it is assumed that the synchro server 30 performsall the functions of the deposit management server 54.

[0099] The synchro server 30 is connected to the register terminal 10and the user's terminal 20 via a communication network, therebyperforming data communication. The synchro server 30 acquiresinformation regarding charging of the dealings by communicating with theregister terminal 10. The synchro server 30 also deposits electronicmoney, checks the balance and sets the term of validity for theelectronic money, by communicating with the user's terminal 20.

[0100]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the synchro server 30. Thesynchro server 30 includes a memory unit 80 for storing informationregarding electronic money; an operation unit 81 for calculating areference number of the electronic money; a payment processing unit 82for processing a payment operation; the first communication unit 84 forhandling data communication via the communication line 18; the secondcommunication unit 86 for handling data communication via thecommunication line 38 and the wireless communication transmission path28; and a database retrieving unit 88 for accessing the registerdatabase 50, the user database 60, the user's account database 70 andthe deposit database 56 so as to retrieve information in the respectivedatabases.

[0101] The memory unit 80 stores information indicating the balance, theterm of validity, or the like, of electronic money. However, theinformation regarding electronic money may be stored in the depositdatabase 56 so as to correspond to the user's terminal 20. In this case,only information regarding electronic money corresponding to a certainuser's terminal 20 may be retrieved from the deposit database 56 andtemporarily stored in the memory unit 80.

[0102] In a case where the register terminal 10 is connected to thesynchro server 30 by dialup connection, the synchro server 30 may detecta caller number of the register terminal 10 and refuse access from phonenumbers other than specific caller numbers. Moreover, an apparatus thatcan recognize the caller number may be provided at a reception port ofthe synchro server 30 so as to refuse a connection request from phonenumbers other than the numbers of specific member stores.

[0103]FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the register terminal 10.The register terminal 10 includes a display 720 for displaying thestatus of the electronic-money payment operation, the balance ofelectronic money and the like; a processor 722 for performing theelectronic-money charging process; the first communication unit 724 forhandling data communication via the short-distance communicationtransmission path 68; and the second communication unit 726 for handlingdata communication via the communication line 18.

[0104]FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the user's terminal 20.The user's terminal 20 includes a display 820 for displaying the statusof the electronic-money payment process, the balance of electronic moneyand the like; a memory 822 for storing the balance, the term ofvalidity, and the like of electronic money; an operation unit 824 forcalculating the reference number of the electronic money; a processor826 for performing the electronic-money payment process; the firstcommunication unit 828 for handling data communication via theshort-distance communication transmission path 68; and the secondcommunication unit 830 for handling data communication via the wirelesscommunication transmission path 28.

[0105] In the electronic payment system using electronic money accordingto the present invention, in order to prevent falsification or unfairuse of the electronic money, both the user's terminal 20 and the synchroserver 30 store the balance and the reference number of the electronicmoney and check or validate the balance and the reference number betweenthe user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30.

[0106] Since the register terminal 10 receives the user's terminalnumber of the user's terminal 20 from the user's terminal 20 so as toknow the balance of the electronic money thereof, the register terminal10 can make improper or unauthorized use of the electronic money of theuser's terminal 20 by using the user's terminal number even though theuse of the electronic money is not requested from the user's terminal20. Therefore, measures for preventing all unfair use are necessary.

[0107] Thus, by comparing the balance of electronic money stored in oneof the user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30 with that stored inthe other so as to check whether or not the compared balances arecoincident, unfair use can be detected because of a disagreement of thebalances, even if the register terminal 10 uses the electronic moneyunder a situation where the user has no concern with that use. Moreover,in a case where the register terminal 10 requests payment from thesynchro server 30, by transmitting a reference number of the electronicmoney and checking the transmitted reference number with the referencenumber stored in the synchro server 30, unfair use can be found becauseof disagreement of the reference numbers, if the register terminal 10unfairly uses the electronic money of the user without obtaining thecorrect reference number from the user's terminal 20.

[0108] As described above, by checking the balance and the referencenumber, unfair use can be found because of disagreement of the balanceor reference number when the user's terminal 20 or the register terminal10 uses the electronic money unfairly, or a person other than the userunfairly uses the user's electronic money.

[0109] The electronic money payment system of the present invention isdivided into a phase in which the user withdraws electronic money, aphase in which the user inquires the balance of electronic money, and aphase in which the user spends electronic money and makes payment byelectronic money, and those phases are described one by one.

[0110] First, referring to FIGS. 8-11, the deposit process of electronicmoney in the electronic money payment system of the present embodimentis described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the electronic money depositprocess in the electronic money payment system of the presentembodiment. The processes by the user's terminal 20 and the synchroserver 30 are shown in the flowchart in term of the passage of time,while data communication between the user's terminal 20 and the synchroserver 30, via the wireless communication transmission path 28 and thecommunication line 38, are shown with horizontal arrows. FIGS. 9-11 areflowcharts showing more details of the process in FIG. 8. Moreover,FIGS. 19A-19G show exemplary display screens of the display 802 of theuser's terminal 20.

[0111] Referring to FIG. 8, the process in which the user withdrawselectronic money and deposits electronic money in the user's terminal 20is described. The user's terminal 20 can store the amount of theelectronic money, and, when the electronic money has been newlywithdrawn from the user's account database, add the newly withdrawnamount to the previously stored balance of the electronic money so as toupdate the stored balance of electronic money.

[0112] The user selects “ELECTRONIC MONEY WITHDRAWAL” from the menu ofthe electronic money payment, which is exemplified in FIG. 19A, therebystarting the electronic money withdrawal process (Step 200). The user'sterminal 20 is connected to the synchro server 30, so that it transmitsthe user's terminal number (Step S202). The user's terminal number is anidentification number unique to the user's terminal 20. In a case wherethe user's terminal 20 is a mobile phone, the user's terminal number maybe a caller phone number. The synchro server 30 receives the user'sterminal number from the user's terminal 20 and inquires informationregarding the user of the user's terminal 20 based on the user'sterminal number (Step 204).

[0113] Referring to FIG. 9, the process of inquiring the userinformation in Step 204 is described. The synchro server 30 detects theuser's terminal number of the user's terminal 20 (Step 2040). Thesynchro server 30 then accesses the user database 60 (Step 2042), andchecks whether or not user registration for that user's terminal 20 hasbeen already done (Step 2044). If the user's terminal 20 has not beenregistered, the synchro server 30 transmits a message of “NOTREGISTERED” to the user's terminal 20 (Step 2046). On the user'sterminal 20, a display shown in FIG. 19B is displayed, that indicatesthat the user has not been registered. Then, the synchro server 30disconnects the connection to the user's terminal 20 (Step 2048),finishing the process.

[0114] In a case where it was confirmed that the user registration hadbeen done, user information is extracted from the user database 60 (Step2050). The user information is information describing the status of theuse of electronic money by the user. Then, it is checked whether or notthere is any problem with the using status (Step 2052). If there is aproblem, the synchro server 30 transmits a message of “YOU CANNOT USETHIS SERVICE.” to the user's terminal 20 (Step 2054). On the user'sterminal 20, a display shown in FIG. 19C is displayed, indicating thatthe user cannot use the electronic payment system. The synchro server 30then disconnects the connection to the user's terminal 20 (Step 2056),finishing the process.

[0115] Returning to FIG. 8, the synchro server 30 performs anauthentication operation for the user of the user's terminal 20 (Step206). The synchro server 30 communicates with the authentication center42 (note FIG. 1) and performs the authentication operation for the user.The authentication center 42 has a user authentication database 44, andcan retrieve and extract authentication information for theauthentication operation for the user. A part or all of the functions ofthe authentication center 42 may be implemented in the synchro server30. For simplified description, it is assumed that the synchro server 30performs the functions of the authentication center 42.

[0116] A mobile phone, as an example of the user's terminal 20, has acaller phone number unique to each mobile phone. The unique caller phonenumber is used whenever the user calls someone. The caller phone numberis uniquely assigned to the mobile phone and it is therefore impossibleto make a telephone call from another mobile phone by using the samecaller phone number. Therefore, as long as the mobile phone is used byan owner thereof, the caller phone number of the mobile phone can beused as an ID of the user.

[0117] However, if the owner of the mobile phone loses the mobile phoneand a person other than the owner uses that mobile phone, it is unclearwhether the user of the mobile phone is the actual owner of the mobilephone, although the mobile phone can be specified uniquely. Thus, in theelectronic payment system of the present embodiment, data that makes thecaller phone number of the mobile phone correspond to the actual ownerof the mobile phone is stored in the user database 60, and it isconfirmed whether or not the user of the mobile phone is the owner.

[0118] The synchro server 30 detects the caller phone number of theuser's terminal 20 when being connected to the user's terminal 20, andretrieves and extracts information regarding the user in the userdatabase 60 based on the caller phone number, thereby authenticating theuser. As an authentication technique, a visual authentication, passwordauthentication, sound authentication or the like can be considered.These authentication techniques can be used in combination.

[0119] In the case of visual authentication, the synchro server 30extracts photo data of the user's face from the user database 60 andtransmits it to the register terminal 10 so that a clerk operating theregister terminal 10 can confirm whether or not the user is a registeredperson. In the case of password authentication, the synchro server 30extracts password information from the user database 60 and transmits apassword request instruction to the user's terminal 20, thereby makingthe user input the password and then making the user's terminal 20transmit the input password.

[0120] The synchro server 30 checks the password thus transmitted withthe password registered in the user database 60, and then transmits theresult of the authentication to the register terminal 10. In the case ofsound authentication, audio data obtained when the user speaks aregistration word is recorded onto the database in place of thepassword. In this case, the user is prompted to speak the registrationword so as to input the audio data from the user's terminal 20, so thatthe audio data is transmitted to the synchro server 30.

[0121] Moreover, in a case where visual authentication is insufficient,for example, the accuracy of the authentication can be improved byperforming multiple authentication, for example, by combining the visualauthentication with other authentication techniques, such as thepassword authentication.

[0122] The process of the user authentication operation in Step 206 isdescribed referring to FIG. 10. The synchro server 30 accesses the userauthentication database 44 (note FIG. 1) in order to perform theauthentication operation (Step 2060), and then extracts informationrequired for the authentication operation (Step 2062). As the userauthentication information, a password registered by the user, photodata of the face, audio data, image data of a fingerprint and image dataof an eye pupil or retina of the user, and the like can be used. Thesynchro server 30 initializes a variable n that indicates how many timesthe authentication information is requested to zero (Step 2064).

[0123] The synchro server 30 then increments n by one (Step 2066), andtransmits the authentication information request message to the user'sterminal 20 (Step 2068). In the case where the authenticationinformation is the password, the user's terminal 20 displays a screenshown in FIG. 19D, and the user then inputs the password as theauthentication information (Step 2070). In the case where theauthentication information is the audio data, the user inputs sound tothe user's terminal.

[0124] In the case of inputting sound, a call is made to theauthentication center 42, via the carrier server 40, so as to transmitthe audio data thus input. In the case where the authenticationinformation is image data, such as the photo of the face, fingerprint,eye pupil, retina and the like, the user transmits the image data of theface, fingerprint, eye pupil, retina and the like by using a CCD cameraor a fingerprint input pad included in or connected to the hand-helddevice.

[0125] The user's terminal 20 transmits the authentication informationinput by the user to the synchro server 30 (Step 2072). The synchroserver 30 receives the authentication information from the user'sterminal 20 and then checks the received authentication information withthat registered in the user authentication database 44 (Step 2074).

[0126] If the authentication information transmitted from the user'sterminal 20 is not correct, it is checked whether or not the number ofpassword requests is larger than two (Step 2076). If n is not largerthan two, the flow goes back to Step 2066 and repeats the request of theauthentication information. If n is larger than two, the authenticationoperation is finished (Step 2078) and a message indicating disapprovalof authentication is transmitted to the user's terminal 20 (Step 2080).The user's terminal 20 displays a screen shown in FIG. 19E that notifiesthat the user cannot use this service because of failure ofauthentication (Step 2082).

[0127] If the synchro server 30 confirms that the authenticationinformation is correct in authentication information checking Step 2074,the authentication operation in Step 206 is finished. Returning to FIG.8, the synchro server 30 transmits a signal indicating the user has beensuccessfully authenticated to the user's terminal 20 (Step 208).

[0128] Then, a screen shown in FIG. 19F for allowing the user to inputthe amount of withdrawal of electronic money is displayed on the user'sterminal 20, and the user inputs the amount of withdrawal (Step 210).The user's terminal 20 transmits the amount of withdrawal input by theuser and the present balance to the synchro server 30.

[0129] The synchro server 30 compares the balance of the electronicmoney received from the user's terminal 20, which has been input to theuser's terminal 20 already, with the balance of the electronic moneyrecorded in the synchro server 30 so as to check whether or not thebalances are coincident (Step 214).

[0130] The process of checking the balances in Step 214 is describedreferring to FIG. 11. The synchro server 30 extracts the balance of theelectronic money that has been deposited in the user's terminal 20 fromthe deposit database 56 based on the user's terminal number of theuser's terminal 20 (Step 2130). It is determined whether or not thebalance received from the user's terminal 20 is coincident with thebalance stored in the deposit database 56 (Step 2132). If the balancesare not coincident with each other, there is a possibility of unfairuse.

[0131] In a case where the balance of the electronic money stored in theuser's terminal 20 is larger than that stored in the deposit database56, there is a possibility that a person other than the user unfairlyspent the electronic money and the user has not realized the unfair use.Also, there is a possibility that the user forged the balance of theelectronic money. In such cases, the synchro server 30 transmits awarning message indicating the possibility of unfair use to themanagement center or a manager of the electronic payment system of thepresent embodiment (Step 2134). The synchro server 30 transmits aninstruction to stop the use to the user's terminal 20 (Step 2136), anddisconnects the connection to the user's terminal 20 (Step 2138),finishing the process.

[0132] Returning to FIG. 8, In a case where the check of the balance inStep 214 was successful, the synchro server 30 accesses the user'saccount database 70 so as to withdraw the amount of electronic moneyspecified by the user in Step 210, and then adds the withdrawn amount tothe present balance of the electronic money, thereby updating thebalance (Step 216).

[0133] The synchro server 30 transmits the new updated balance to theuser's terminal 20 (Step 218). The user's terminal 20 receives the newbalance, and updates the electronic money balance stored in the user'sterminal 20 to the new balance (Step 220).

[0134] The synchro server 30 then sets the term of validity of theelectronic money (Step 222). The electronic money is withdrawn from theuser's account, then a time at which the new, updated balance wastransmitted to the user's terminal 20 is set as a start time, and thenthe term of validity is set as a time period or days after the starttime. For example, the term of validity is set to three days or ten daysfrom the start time. The synchro server 30 transmits the start time andterm of validity thus set to the user's terminal 20 (Step 224). Theuser's terminal 20 records the start time and the term of validity thatwere received from the synchro server 30 so as to correspond to thenewly deposited electronic money (Step 226).

[0135] The synchro server 30 then sets a new reference number of theelectronic money, and stores the newly set reference number in thedeposit database 56 so as to correspond to the electronic money (Step228). The reference number is calculated from an initial value of thereference number and an update rule for updating the reference number.The update rule of the reference number is described later. The synchroserver 30 transmits the initial value and update rule of the referencenumber to the user's terminal 20 (Step 230), thereby finishing theprocess.

[0136] The user's terminal 20 records the initial value and update ruleof the reference number that were received from the synchro server 30 soas to correspond to the electronic money (Step 232). The user's terminal20 displays the new balance of the electronic money by a screen shown inFIG. 19G (Step 234), thereby finishing the process.

[0137] In the above deposit process of the electronic money, the userinformation inquiry process 204, the user authentication process 206,the balance check process 214, the balance update process 216, thesetting of the term of validity 222 and the setting of the referencenumber 228, that are performed by the synchro server 30, are performedby the payment processing unit 82 and the database retrieving unit 88 ofthe synchro server 30 (note FIG. 5).

[0138] Moreover, the communication process, that is data communicationthe synchro server 30 performs with the user's terminal 20, includingthe receipt in Step 202 of the user's terminal number from the user'sterminal 20, the transmission in Step 208 of the authentication-approvalsignal to the user's terminal 20, the receipt in Step 212 of thewithdrawn amount and the present balance from the user's terminal 20,the balance update in Step 218 to the user's terminal 20, thetransmission in Step 224 of the start time and term of validity to theuser's terminal 20, and the transmission in Step 230 of the initialvalue and update rule of the reference number to the user's terminal 20(note FIG. 8) is handled by the second communication unit 86 of thesynchro server 30.

[0139] Next, the reference number of the electronic money is described.In order to prevent falsification or unfair use of the electronic money,both the user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30 store and managethe reference number of the electronic money when the electronic moneyis deposited in the user's terminal 20. The use of the electronic moneyis allowed only when the reference number of the electronic money usedby the user's terminal 20 is coincident with that stored in the synchroserve 30 to correspond to the user's terminal 20.

[0140] The same number is not used continuously as the reference number.Instead, the reference number is updated at regular intervals. Each ofthe user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30 stores the initialvalue of the reference number and the rule for updating the referencenumber, and updates the reference number at regular intervals. There isno transmission of the updated reference number between the user'sterminal 20 and the synchro server 30.

[0141] The user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30 repeatedlyupdate the reference number from the initial value based on the updaterule independently of each other. In a case where the update isperformed, for example, every one minute, the reference number n minutesafter the time at which the electronic money was deposited in the user'sterminal 20 can be determined uniquely from the initial value and theupdate rule by storing the time of deposit as a start time in both theuser's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30.

[0142] Without knowledge of the initial value and update rule of thereference number, a person other than the user cannot find the referencenumber that the user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30 use.Therefore, it is possible to prevent unfair use of the electronic moneyby the register terminal 10 using the user's terminal number of theuser's terminal 20. Moreover, it is also possible to prevent thefalsification and the use of the electronic money by another person whopretends to be the user of the user's terminal 20 by using the user'sterminal number of the user's terminal 20.

[0143] An example of the update rule of the reference number isdescribed. FIG. 12 explains an exemplary update rule of the referencenumber. As the initial number, a square root that is an irrationalnumber is used. In this update rule, the n-th decimal place number ofthe square root is used as the reference number n minutes after thestart time. The calculation of decimal places may be cut at anappropriate decimal place so that the number used in the update rulegoes back to the first decimal place. In FIG. 12, square roots of 2, 3,5 and 6 are used and the reference number n minutes after the start timeis expressed by the n-th decimal place number of the respective squareroot.

[0144] In the above description, the reference number n minutes afterthe start time is determined while the time of deposit of the electronicmoney is considered as the start time. Instead of the time that haspassed after the start time, the number of times of use of theelectronic money may be used for updating the reference number. Morespecifically, in a case where the number of times the electronic moneywas used after the electronic money was deposited is n, the n-th decimalplace number is used as the reference number.

[0145] In the case of updating the reference number using the time thathas passed after the time of deposit of the electronic money, it isnecessary to synchronize the clocks between the user's terminal 20 andthe synchro server 30. However, in the case of updating the referencenumber in accordance with the number of times the electronic money isused, the clock synchronization is not necessary.

[0146]FIG. 13 explains another exemplary update rule. In this updaterule, an algorithm for generating a random number sequence is used. Aseed of the random number generation is given as the initial value, andthe n-th number in the random number sequence continuously generated isused as the reference number n minutes after the start time or that inthe n-th uses. As a generation routine of the random number sequence, atypical random number algorithm for generating normal random numbers oruniform random numbers can be used. Exemplary sequences of the referencenumbers generated by using the random number generation algorithm areshown in FIG. 13. When the seed of the random number generation ischanged, the series of generated random numbers is also changed.Therefore, without the initial value of the random value and the randomnumber generation algorithm, the reference number cannot be estimated.

[0147] By determining in advance a specific random number generationalgorithm as the update rule in both the user's terminal 20 and thesynchro server 30, the n-th reference number can be calculated uniquelyfrom the seed of the random number generation given as the initialvalue.

[0148]FIG. 14 explains still another example of the update rule. In thisexample, Hash function y=h(x) is used as the update rule. The initialvalue is given as the input of Hash function h(x), and then a Hash valuey is obtained as the output. This output is used as the reference numberone minute after the start time. Then, Hash value y is given as theinput to Hash function, so as to obtain a new Hash value y. The new Hashvalue y is used as a two-minute-after reference number. By repeatingthese processes, Hash values are obtained one after another inaccordance with Hash function and are then used as the referencenumbers.

[0149] As Hash function, unidirectional Hash function may be used. Theunidirectional Hash function is Hash function for which it is difficultto obtain the value x that provides the function value y in accordancewith h(x)=y from the function value y. By using the one directional Hashfunction, it becomes difficult to estimate the Hash function even if thesequence of the generated reference numbers is examined. Therefore,reference numbers with improved security can be generated.

[0150] By determining in advance the specific Hash function as theupdate rule in both the user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30, areference number n minutes after the start time can be calculateduniquely from the initial value.

[0151] As described above, when the user newly withdraws electronicmoney from the user's bank account or credit card account and depositsthe electronic money in the user's terminal 20, it is checked whether ornot the balance of the electronic money already stored in the user'sterminal 20 is equal to the balance of the electronic money of the userthat the synchro server 30 stored in the deposit database 56. Thisenables the detection of unfair use by disagreement of the balances in acase where the electronic money was unfairly used.

[0152] Next, the phase of checking the balance of the electronic moneyis described. When the user inquires the balance of the electronic moneystored in the user's terminal 20, the balance of the electronic moneycan be checked with the balance of the electronic money that the synchroserver 30 stored in the deposit database 56.

[0153]FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the balance inquiry by the user'sterminal 20. When the user selects the balance inquiry from the menu ofthe electronic money system of the user's terminal 20 (Step 240), theuser's terminal 20 transmits a request of the balance inquiry and thepresent balance of the electronic money stored in the user's terminal 20to the synchro server 30. The synchro server 30 checks the balancereceived from the user's terminal 20 with the balance of the electronicmoney of that user's terminal 20 that was stored by the synchro server30 in the deposit database 56 (Step 244).

[0154] The process of the balance inquiry in Step 244 is the same as theprocess of the balance inquiry in Step 214 shown in FIG. 8. If thebalances under check are not coincident, there is a possibility ofunfair use of the electronic money. Therefore, the use of the electronicmoney is stopped. If the balances are coincident with each other, thesynchro server 30 transmits the balance-check OK signal to the user'sterminal 20 (Step 246), and then the user's terminal 20 displays thebalance of the electronic money stored in the user's terminal 20 (Step248).

[0155] In a case where the user has inquired the balance of theelectronic money, it is not always necessary for the user's terminal 20to check the balance with the balance in the synchro server 30. Becausethe check of the balance requires communication with the synchro server30, the times of the balance inquiry may be reduced in order to reducethe communication cost. For example, the balance inquiry may beperformed only when a predetermined time, for example, three days havepassed after the last balance inquiry by the user.

[0156] By the function of checking the balance of the electronic moneywhen the user has inquired the balance, it is possible to prevent unfairuse of the electronic money in which the user did not use the electronicmoney, and it is also possible to prevent time passing before the userrealizes the unfair use.

[0157] In the above example, the balance is checked when the userinquired the balance. However, the balance may be checked by allowingthe user's terminal 20 to voluntarily communicate with the synchroserver 30 when the electronic money has not been used for a long time.As a trigger for causing the user's terminal 20 to check the balance,the fact that a predetermined number of days have passed after the timeof deposit the electronic money may be used, for example.

[0158]FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the balance inquiry by the synchroserver 30. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 15, the balance check isperformed when the user of the user's terminal 20 starts the balanceinquiry. However, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 16, the balance checkis started when the synchro server 30 starts the balance inquiry. Thesynchro server 30 voluntarily checks the balance of the electronic moneyof the specific user's terminal 20 with the balance of the electronicmoney managed by the synchro server 30 in a case where the term ofvalidity of the electronic money has expired, a case where theelectronic money is suspected to be unfairly used, or the like. In thisway, the synchro server 30 can automatically make the examination of theelectronic money that is suspected to be unfairly used to perform thebalance check.

[0159]FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an update process of the electronicmoney for which the term of validity has expired, performed by thesynchro server 30. The synchro server 30 extracts the expired electronicmoney from the deposit database 56 (Step 260).

[0160] The synchro server 30 resets the reference number of theextracted electronic money (Step 262). Then, the synchro server 30 newlydetermines the initial value of the reference number and also sets theupdate rule for updating the reference number. The synchro server 30transmits the initial value and update rule of the reference number thusset to the user's terminal 20 for storing the electronic money (Step264).

[0161] The user's terminal 20 sets the reference number based on theinitial value and update rule that were received (Step 266). The synchroserver 30 resets the term of validity of the electronic money (Step268). Also, the start time and the term of validity of the electronicmoney are newly determined and then are recorded in the deposit database56. The synchro server 30 then transmits the start time and term ofvalidity thus set to the user's terminal 20 (Step 270). The user'sterminal 20 sets the start time and term of validity that were receivedfor the electronic money, and records them (Step 272).

[0162] As described above, the electronic money for which the term ofvalidity has expired can be made valid again by resetting the referencenumber and using the reference number with the new initial value andupdate rule. This is more advantageous as compared with a case where theexpired electronic money can be no longer be used and therefore the userhas to deposit electronic money again, because the user's burden isreduced. Moreover, also in a case of using the electronic money whilethe term of validity is set to be relatively short and the update ruleis changed in order to ensure the safety, this is advantageous in thatthe electronic money can be continuously used without burdening theuser.

[0163]FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an update process of the expiredelectronic money by the user's terminal 20. In the flowchart shown inFIG. 17, the synchro server 30 extracts the expired electronic money andperforms the update process of the electronic money of the user'sterminal 20 that stores the expired electronic money. On the other hand,the flowchart shown in FIG. 18 is different from that shown in FIG. 17in that the user's terminal 20 detects the expiration of the electronicmoney stored therein, notifies the detection result and makes thesynchro server 30 perform the update process of the electronic money.

[0164] The user's terminal 20 checks whether or not the term of validityof the electronic money has expired (Step 280), and then transmitsexpiration signal if the term of validity has expired (Step 282). Thesynchro server 30 detects the user's terminal number of the user'sterminal 20, extracts information regarding the electronic money of theuser's terminal 20 managed by the synchro server 30, and then performs achange of the reference number and reset of the term of validity. Theprocess of the change of the reference number and the process ofresetting the term of validity (Steps 284 to 294) are the same as thosein Steps 262 to 272 in FIG. 17 and therefore a description is omittedhere.

[0165] Next, the phase in which the user uses electronic money and paysby the electronic money is described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of anelectronic money payment process of the electronic payment system of thepresent embodiment. FIGS. 21-24 are flowcharts of details of the processin FIG. 20. FIG. 25 shows an exemplary display screen of the display 802of the user's terminal 20. FIG. 26 shows an exemplary display screen ofthe register-side display 702 of the register terminal 10.

[0166] Referring to FIG. 20, the electronic money payment process isdescribed. At the retail store, the user buys the goods and pays for thegoods at the register placed at the retail store. The clerk handling theregister is requested to process the payment by electronic money fromthe user and then selects the electronic money payment menu on theregister terminal 10, thereby starting the electronic money paymentprocess (Step 100). The user selects the electronic money payment menuon the user's terminal 20, thereby starting the electronic money payment(Step 101). The user's terminal 20 checks whether or not the term ofvalidity of the electronic money stored in the user's terminal 20 hasexpired (Step 102).

[0167] In a case where the term of validity of the electronic money hasexpired, a screen indicating the electronic money cannot be used isdisplayed on the user's terminal 20. After confirming that the term ofvalidity has not expire, the user's terminal 20 communicates with theregister terminal 10 so as to transmit the user's terminal number andthe reference number and balance of the electronic money (Step 103). Forthe communication between the register terminal 10 and the user'sterminal 20, infrared communication or short-distance wirelesscommunication can be used. The register terminal 10 turns on the receiptlamp in order to notify the user and the clerk of the start of thecommunication with the user's terminal 20 (Step 104).

[0168] The register 10 terminal accesses the synchro server 30 andtransmits the user's terminal number and the reference number andbalance of the electronic money that were received from the user'sterminal 20 (Step 106). When the register terminal 10 has accessed thesynchro server 30, the synchro server 30 may search the registerdatabase 50 for information such as a terminal number of the registerterminal so as to confirm whether or not the register terminal 10 hasbeen already registered and refuse access to a non-registered registerterminal. Moreover, the synchro server 30 may refuse access from a phonenumber other than a specific caller number by checking the caller numberwhen the register terminal 10 accesses the communication port.

[0169] The synchro server 30 checks or validates the electronic moneybased on the user's terminal number and the reference number of theelectronic money and balance of the electronic money that were receivedfrom the register terminal 10 (Step 110). Referring to FIG. 21, theprocess of checking the electronic money in Step 110 is described. Thesynchro server 30 searches the deposit database 56 based on the user'sterminal number and extracts the reference number and balance of theelectronic money used by the user's terminal 20 (Step 1102). The synchroserver 30 compares the reference number received from the registerterminal 10 with the reference number extracted from the depositdatabase 56 so as to check whether or not they are coincident with eachother (Step 1106).

[0170] In a case where they are not coincident, the synchro server 30transmits a check-failure signal to the register terminal 10 (Step1108). The register terminal 10 sends the check-failure signal to theuser's terminal 20 (Step 1110) and then displays a screen shown in FIG.26A that indicates the electronic money cannot be used (Step 1112),thereby finishing the process. The user's terminal 20 displays a screenshown in FIG. 25A that indicates that the electronic money cannot beused because of the failure in check, on the display of the user'sterminal 20 (Step 1114), thereby finishing the process.

[0171] In a case where the check of the reference number was successfulin Step 1106, the synchro server 30 compares the balance received fromthe register terminal 10 with the balance extracted from the depositdatabase 56 so as to check whether or not they are coincident with eachother (Step 1116). In a case where they are not coincident, there is apossibility that the electronic money was unfairly used. Thus, a warningmessage indicating the possibility of unfair use is sent to themanagement center (Step 1118). The synchro server 30 transmits thecheck-failure signal to the register terminal 10 (Step 1108). In a casewhere the balance check was successful, the synchro server 30 starts thenext process.

[0172] Returning to FIG. 20, the synchro server 30 transmits a check-OKsignal to the register terminal 10 when the process of checking theelectronic money in Step 110 has been finished (Step 112). The registerterminal 10 checks the spent amount and balance of the electronic moneywhen receiving the check-OK signal (Step 114). Referring to FIG. 22, theprocess of Step 114 of checking the spent amount and balance of theelectronic money is described. The clerk handling the register terminal10 calculates the total of the purchase amount of the user by means ofthe register terminal 10 and calculates the spent amount of theelectronic money.

[0173] The register terminal 10 checks whether or not the balancereceived from the user's terminal 20 is larger than the spent amount(Step 1140). When the balance does not cover the spent amount, theregister terminal 10 displays a screen shown in FIG. 26B on the displayof the register terminal 10 so as to notify the clerk of the shortage ofthe balance (Step 1142). The register terminal 10 transmits abalance-shortage signal to the user's terminal 20 (Step 1144). Theuser's terminal 20 displays a screen shown in FIG. 25B so as to notifythe user of the shortage of the balance (Step 1146).

[0174] Returning to FIG. 20, the register terminal 10 transmits thespent amount to the synchro server 30 after confirming that the balancecovers the spent amount (Step 116). The synchro server 30 confirms anylimitation on the use of the electronic money when receiving the spentamount (Step 118).

[0175] The limitation on the use of the electronic money is to limit theuse of the electronic money during a predetermined time period after thelast use of the electronic money, for example, for one minute after thelast use, and to make the electronic money, for which the term ofvalidity after the time of deposit of the electronic time has expired,unavailable.

[0176] The reason why successive uses of the electronic money in a shortperiod are limited is to prevent unfair use of the electronic money ofthe user's terminal 20 by the register terminal 10 immediately after theregister terminal 10 processed the previous electronic money payment forthe user's terminal 20. In a case where the reference number is updated,for example, every one minute, the reference number is not updated for anext use within one minute after the previous use. Therefore, theregister terminal 10 can process the payment by the electronic money byusing the same reference number as that received from the user'sterminal 20 without approval of the user's terminal 20. Thus, even ifthe measure against unfair use that uses the reference number is done,the electronic money can be used unfairly. Thus, successive uses of theelectronic money within a predetermined period has to be limited.

[0177] Referring to FIG. 23, the process of Step 118 of checking thelimitation on the use of the electronic money is described. The synchroserver 30 searches the deposit database based on the user's terminalnumber and then extracts the start time, the last time at which thebalance was updated, and the term of validity for the electronic moneyof the user's terminal 20 (Step 180). The synchro server 30 checkswhether or not a predetermined time, for example, one minute has passedafter the last update time of the balance (Step 1182), and transmits anot-available signal to the register terminal 10 when the predeterminedtime has not passed (Step 1184).

[0178] The register terminal 10 sends the not-available signal to theuser's terminal 20 (Step 1186) and displays a screen shown in FIG. 26Con the display of the register terminal 10, indicating that theelectronic money cannot be used (Step 1188), thereby finishing theprocess. The user's terminal 20 displays a screen shown in FIG. 25C onthe display of the user's terminal 20, indicating that the electronicmoney cannot be used (Step 1190), thereby finishing the process.

[0179] In a case where the predetermined time has passed after the lastupdate time of the balance, it is determined whether the time that haspassed after the start time of the electronic money goes beyond the termof validity (Step 1192). The user's terminal 20 checks whether or notthe term of validity has expired when the electronic money is used inthe process of Step 102 of checking the term of validity in FIG. 20, andthen makes the expired electronic money unavailable. Thus, the synchroserver 30 is sure to receive no request of payment by expired electronicmoney and therefore the detection of expired electronic money in thisprocess (Step 1192) indicates that the electronic money may be unfairlyused. In this case, the synchro server 30 sends the warning messageindicating the possibility of unfair use to the management center (Step194) and transmits the not-available signal to the register terminal 10(Step 1184).

[0180] Returning to FIG. 20, when the synchro server 30 has finished theprocess of Step 118 of checking any limitation on the use of theelectronic money and confirms that the use of the electronic money isnot limited, the synchro server 30 transmits an available signal to theregister terminal 10 (Step 120). The register terminal 10 sends thespent amount of the electronic money to the user's terminal 20 (Step122). The user's terminal 20 then confirms the paying amount (Step 124).Referring to FIG. 24, the process of Step 124 of confirming the payingamount is described. The user's terminal 20 displays the total amount ofthe purchase by a screen shown in FIG. 25D (Step 1242).

[0181] The user confirms the total amount of the purchase (Step 1244),and selects an OK button in a case where the user proceeds with thepayment by electronic money. In a case where the user wants to cancelthe payment, a cancel button is selected. When the cancel button isselected, the cancel of the payment is shown by displaying a screenshown in FIG. 25E (Step 1246). The user's terminal 20 then transmits acancel signal to the register terminal 10 (Step 1248), thereby finishingthe process. When receiving the cancel signal, the register terminal 10displays the cancel of the payment by a screen shown in FIG. 26D (Step1250), thereby finishing the process.

[0182] Returning to FIG. 20, the user's terminal 20 subtracts the payingamount from the balance of the electronic money so as to update thebalance, and then records the new balance (Step 126). The user'sterminal 20 transmits a payment confirming signal to the registerterminal (Step 128). The register terminal 10 transmits the paymentconforming signal to the synchro server 30 (Step 130) and also transmitsa bill to the user's terminal 20 (Step 134), thereby finishing theprocess. When receiving the payment confirming signal from the registerterminal 10, the synchro server 30 updates the balance of the electronicmoney stored in the deposit database 56 (Step 132), thereby finishingthe process. The user's terminal 20 receives the bill from the registerterminal 10, and displays the bill by a screen shown in FIG. 25F (Step136).

[0183] In the above payment process, the term of validity is checkedwhen the user's terminal 20 uses the electronic money, and therefore theuser cannot use the electronic money in a case where the term ofvalidity has expired. It is preferable that the user is notified thatthe term of validity has expired before the user uses the electronicmoney. The user's terminal 20 may be configured so that an alarmindicating the term of validity has expired is displayed on the displaywhen the term of validity of the electronic money has expired. In thisway, the user can update the electronic money before the use of theelectronic money. Moreover, also in a case where the electronic money isshort, a similar alarm may be displayed by the user's terminal 20. Inthis way, the user can withdraw more electronic money before the useruses the electronic money.

[0184] In the above payment process, the user's terminal 20 transmitsthe payment confirming signal after updating the balance of electronicmoney. At the time at which the payment confirming signal is furthersent from the register terminal 10 to the deposit database 56, thesynchro server 30 updates the balance of electronic money in the depositdatabase 56. However, in a case where the communication between theuser's terminal 20 and the register terminal 10 is in a bad condition,the payment confirming signal cannot be set from the user's terminal 20to the register terminal 10 after the user's terminal updated thebalance of electronic money, so that the payment is likely to becancelled.

[0185] In such a case, there may arise an inconsistency in the balanceof electronic money stored in the synchro server 30 with the balance ofelectronic money stored in the user's terminal 20. Thus, before theuser's terminal 20 updates the balance of electronic money, the user'sterminal 20 transmits the payment confirming signal to the registerterminal 10, and the register terminal 10 sends back a confirming signalthat confirms that the payment confirming signal from the user'sterminal 20 was received. The user's terminal 20 updates the balance ofelectronic money in a case where the user's terminal 20 received theconfirming signal from the register terminal 10. In this way, it ispossible to prevent disagreement of the balance of electronic moneybetween the user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30.

[0186] In the electronic money payment system of the present embodiment,it is possible to prevent unfair use by checking the balance andreference number of the electronic money stored in one of the user'sterminal 20 and the synchro server 30 with those stored in the otherwhen the deposit of electronic money, the balance inquiry and thepayment are performed. Other than the above, a mechanism is provided forchecking inconsistency of electronic money by an automated check of theelectronic money by the synchro server 30.

[0187] The synchro server 30 may search the deposit database 56 so as toextract electronic money for which the term of validity has expired andmay check up the payment records, the log of uses, records of depositsand withdrawals in the user's account database 70 so as to check theexistence of any inconsistency. Moreover, the synchro server 30 maycommunicate with the user's terminal 20 that deposited electronic moneyif necessary, to inquire the balance recorded in that user's terminal20, so that the balance in that user's terminal 20 is compared with thebalance recorded in the deposit database 56.

[0188] In the description of the above payment process, after receivingthe payment confirming signal from the register terminal 10, the synchroserver 30 may extract a part of attribute information related to theuser of the user's terminal 20 that made this payment from the userdatabase 60 and transmit the extracted information to the registerterminal 10. The user's attribute information transmitted to theregister terminal 10 is information regarding attributes of the user,such as sex or age. It is preferable that this attribute information notcontain personal information such as name, address and a credit cardnumber.

[0189] The register terminal 10 may acquire the information related tothe user who made this payment and accumulate the detail of the goodspurchased and the user information as a purchase history in a databaseof the retail store. Therefore, the retail store can extract thepurchase action of the user such as an age bracket of user's whopurchase a certain item, from the purchase history informationaccumulated in the database, so that the retail store can use theextracted information for marketing.

[0190] Although the synchro server 30 receives the spent amount ofelectronic money from the register terminal 10, the synchro server 30may receive detailed information regarding the purchased item such asthe name or unit price together with the spent amount and record thereceived information in the user database 60 as the user's purchasehistory. In this manner, the user's terminal 20 can inquire the user'spurchase history to the synchro server 30 and receive the purchasehistory from the synchro server 30.

[0191] The functions and operations of the payment process of theelectronic money payment system of the present embodiment are describedabove. If any trouble of communication occurs in the transactions of theaforementioned payment, for example, the stop of communication, theinformation involved with all the processes, temporal data and the likeare initialized, thereby finishing the process.

[0192] In the above payment process of FIG. 20, the process of checkingelectronic money in Step 110, the confirming process of the spent amountlimit in Step 118 and the process of updating the balance of electronicmoney in Step 132, that are performed by the synchro server 30, arehandled by the payment processing unit 82, the operation unit 81 and thedatabase retrieving unit 88 of the synchro server 30.

[0193] The communication such as the receipt in Step 106 of the user'sterminal number, the reference number and the balance from the registerterminal 10, the transmission in Step 112 of the check-OK signal to theregister terminal 10, the receipt in Step 116 of the spent amount fromthe register terminal 10, the transmission in Step 120 of the availablesignal to the register terminal 10 and the receipt in Step 130 of thepayment confirming signal from the register terminal 10, that are datacommunication performed by the synchro server 30 with the registerterminal 10, are handled by the first communication unit 84 of thesynchro server 30.

[0194] In the electronic payment system of the present embodiment, boththe user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30 store the balance andreference number and check up the balances and reference numbers witheach other. Therefore, it is possible to detect unfair use, therebyrealizing the electronic payment process using electronic money withhigh reliability. Moreover, the mobile phone and the hand-held devicethat can perform communication by being connected to the mobile phone orthe like have portability that the user can carry them everywhere andconvenience that the communication can be performed by using wirelesstelecommunication everywhere. Thus, the electronic payment system of thepresent embodiment enables safe and convenient electronic payment withhigh reliability.

[0195] (Embodiment 2)

[0196] The electronic payment system according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention is described. In the electronic payment systemaccording to the present embodiment, the payment on the purchased goodscan be made by electronic money when the user buys the goods from avending machine.

[0197] The electronic payment system of the present embodiment has thesame structure as that in the first embodiment except that a vendingmachine is used as the claiming or demanding terminal in place of theregister terminal 10 and therefore a detailed description is omittedhere.

[0198]FIG. 27 shows an appearance of a vending machine 16 of the presentembodiment. The vending machine 16 has buttons 900 for allowingselection of items, a short-distance communication unit 902, a coininsertion part 904 through which a coin can be inserted, and a dischargeopening 906 for the purchased item. The short-distance communicationunit 902 performs communication by infrared communication orshort-distance wireless communication with a short-distancecommunication unit of the user's terminal 20. The vending machine 16 cancommunicate with the synchro server 30 via the communication line 18. Asthe communication method from the vending machine 16 to the synchroserver 30, any communication technique of communication via a telephoneline, communication via a private line and wireless telecommunicationmay be used.

[0199] The electronic money payment process of the present embodiment isthe same as the payment process of the first embodiment except that thepurchased item is discharged through the discharge opening 906, andtherefore the detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0200] (Embodiment 3)

[0201] The electronic payment system according to a third embodiment ofthe present invention is described. In the electronic payment systemaccording to the present embodiment, the user can pay for a parking feeby electronic money at a gate when entering a parking lot or exitingfrom the parking lot.

[0202] The electronic payment system of the present embodiment has thesame structure as that in the first embodiment except that a parking feecollecting machine is used as an exemplary claiming or demandingterminal and therefore a detailed description of the same structure isomitted here.

[0203]FIG. 28 shows an appearance of a parking fee collecting machine 22of the present embodiment. The parking fee collecting machine 22 has adisplay 914 for displaying the parking fee, a short-distancecommunication unit 916 for communicating with the short-distancecommunication unit of the user's terminal 20, a gate 910, and a crossinggate 912. In addition, the parking fee collecting machine 22 includes apart operable to communicate with the synchro server 30 via a telephoneline, a private line or wireless communication.

[0204] The electronic money payment process of the present embodiment isthe same as the payment process of the first embodiment except that thegate opens after the payment by the electronic money has been finished,and therefore a detailed description is omitted here.

[0205] (Embodiment 4)

[0206] The electronic payment system according to a fourth embodiment ofthe present invention is described. In the electronic payment system ofthe present embodiment, the user can pay for railway fare by electronicmoney at a ticket gate.

[0207] In the electronic payment system of the present embodiment, aticket inspector is used as an example of the claiming terminal. FIGS.29A-29B show an appearance of the ticket inspector 12. The ticketinspector 12 includes a wireless communication port 920 forcommunicating with a short-distance communication unit of the user'sterminal 20 of the user, an on-receiving lamp 922 for indicating astatus of the communication with the user's terminal 20, areceipt-completion lamp 924, the first sensor 926 for detecting that theuser passes through the gate, the second sensor 928 and the gate 930. Itis assumed that the user passes through the ticket gate at Station A,gets on a train, gets off the train at Station B, passes through theticket gate at station B and pays for the fare by electronic money.

[0208]FIG. 30 is a flowchart of the electronic money payment process atthe ticket gate of the boarding station. The user pushes an electronicmoney button of the user's terminal 20 at the ticket gate of theboarding station, thereby starting wireless communication between thewireless communication port 920 of the ticket inspector 12 and theuser's terminal 20 (Step 300). The user's terminal 20 transmits thebalance of electronic money to the ticket inspector 12 (Step 302). Theticket inspector 12 confirms that the balance received from the user'sterminal 20 is larger than the minimum fare (Step 306). In a case wherethe balance does not cover the minimum fare, a signal indicating theshortage of the balance is transmitted to the user's terminal 20.

[0209] A screen shown in FIG. 32B is then displayed on the user'sterminal 20 but the gate does not open. In a case where the balancecovers the minimum fare, the ticket inspector 12 transmits informationregarding the boarding station to the user's terminal 20 (Step 308). Theuser's terminal 20 then displays the boarding station information by ascreen shown in FIG. 32A. A train icon 932 on the display screenindicates that the user is on board the train and the payment has notbeen finished yet. The user's terminal 20 sends back thereceipt-completion signal to the ticket inspector 12 after displayingthe boarding station information (Step 312). The ticket inspector 12turns on the receipt-completion lamp 924 (Step 314) and opens the gate(Step 316).

[0210]FIG. 31 is a flowchart of the electronic money payment process atthe ticket gate of the exit station. The user pushes the electronicmoney button on the user's terminal 20, thereby staring communicationwith the wireless communication port 920 of the ticket inspector 12(Step 320). The user's terminal 20 transmits the balance and referencenumber of the electronic money and the boarding station information tothe ticket inspector 12 (Step 322). The ticket inspector 12 turns on theon-receiving lamp 922 (Step 324). The ticket inspector 12 transmits theuser's terminal number, the reference number and the balance receivedfrom the user's terminal 20 to the synchro server 30 (Step 326). Thesynchro server 30 checks the balance of the electronic money (Step 328).

[0211] The process of checking the electronic money in Step 328 is thesame as the process of Step 110 of checking the electronic money in thefirst embodiment and therefore a detailed description thereof is omittedhere. In a case where the check of the electronic money was notsuccessful, a screen shown in FIG. 32E is displayed on the user'sterminal and the payment by electronic money cannot be done, so that thegate of the ticket inspector 12 does not open. In a case where the checkof the electronic money was successful, the synchro server 30 transmitsthe check-OK signal to the ticket inspector 12 (Step 330) and confirmsthe spent amount and the balance (Step 332).

[0212] The ticket inspector 12 calculates the fare from the boardingstation to the exit station by using the information regarding theboarding station received from the user's terminal 20, therebycalculating the spent amount. The process to check the spent amount andbalance in Step 322 is the same as the process in Step 114 in the firstembodiment shown in FIG. 20. In a case of shortage of the balance, ascreen shown in FIG. 32F is displayed on the user's terminal 20, thepayment by electronic money cannot be done, and the gate of the ticketinspector 12 does not open.

[0213] After the confirmation of the spent amount and balance, accountinformation is sent to the user's terminal 20 (Step 334). The user'sterminal 20 displays the account information received from the ticketinspector 12 by a screen shown in FIG. 32D (Step 336). On the display,the names of the boarding station and exit station, the fare from theboarding station to the exit station, and the balance of electronicmoney in a case of paying for the fare by electronic money aredisplayed.

[0214] The user's terminal 20 updates the balance of electronic money(Step 337) after displaying the account information, and then transmitsan account-information receipt signal to the ticket inspector 12 (Step338). The ticket inspector 12 sends the spent amount to the synchroserver 30 (Step 342) after receiving the account-information receiptsignal from the user's terminal 20, and then opens the gate (Step 344).The synchro server 30 updates the balance of electronic money stored inthe deposit database 56 (Step 346) when receiving the spent amount fromthe ticket inspector 12.

[0215] (Embodiment 5)

[0216] The electronic payment system according to a fifth embodiment ofthe present invention is described. In the electronic payment system ofthe present embodiment, the user can pay for toll of a toll road, suchas a speedway, by electronic money.

[0217] In the electronic payment system of the present embodiment, acommunication adapter to which a mobile phone is attached, as an exampleof the claiming terminal, is used. FIG. 33 shows an appearance of thecommunication adapter 14. The communication adapter 14 includes anantenna 950 for detecting an electric wave signal, a speaker 952, ahand-held device cradle 954, a toll-booth signal detection lamp 956 anda pass-OK lamp 958. The user provides the communication adapter 14 on adashboard of a car and the like and places the user's terminal 20 on thecradle 954 to be connected to the cradle 954.

[0218]FIG. 34 shows an appearance of a charging system for the tollroad. The toll-road charging system includes a communication tower 960and an exclusive tollgate 962 at a toll booth. The communication tower960 is placed before the toll booth so as to transmit the electric wavesignal. The exclusive tollgate is exclusive to the payment by electronicmoney, and has a sensor 964 and a monitor camera 966.

[0219] When the car the user is on board approaches the communicationtower 960 and reaches a point several hundred meters away from thecommunication tower 960, the communication adapter 14 detects theelectric wave signal transmitted from the communication tower 960, bymeans of the antenna 950, and then automatically starts communication bythe user's terminal 20, so as to transmit the user's terminal number andthe reference number and balance of the electronic money from the user'sterminal 20 to the communication tower 960. The electronic-moneychecking process performed by the communication tower 960 is the same asthe electronic-money checking process by the register terminal 10 in thefirst embodiment, and therefore a detailed description thereof isomitted here.

[0220] While the communication tower 960 is checking the electronicmoney, the tollbooth-signal detection lamp 956 of the communicationadapter turns on and off, thereby notifying the user that the carapproaches the toll booth and the electronic money payment process isbeing performed. This notification to the user may be made by an audiomessage by means of the speaker 952.

[0221] If the check of the electronic money was successful, thecommunication tower 960 transmits the check-OK signal to thecommunication adapter 14 or the user's terminal 20. The communicationadapter 14 then turns the pass-OK lamp 958 on, thereby notifying theuser that the car has been permitted to pass through the exclusivetollgate 962 for the payment by electronic money at the toll booth.Moreover, the notification to the user may be simultaneously performedby an audio message by means of the speaker 952, which is one example ofa sound notification unit. In this way, the user can go into theexclusive toll bar 962 without interrupting the drive.

[0222] In a case where the check of the electronic money was notsuccessful, the communication tower 960 transmits the check-failuresignal to the communication adapter 14 or the user's terminal 20. Thecommunication adapter 14 switches the state of the tollbooth signaldetection lamp 956 so that the lamp 956 is lighted, thereby notifyingthe user that the car cannot pass through the exclusive tollgate 962.Moreover, the notification to the user may be simultaneously made by anaudio message by means of the speaker 952. In this way, the user givesup the payment by electronic money and can go into a general tollgate atthe toll booth without interrupting the drive.

[0223] The communication tower 960 may compare the balance of theelectronic money in the user's terminal 20 with the toll of the tollroad so as to check whether or not the balance can cover the toll, andtransmits a signal notifying the user of shortage of the balance to theuser's terminal 20 in a case of shortage of the balance. In a case wherethe user's terminal 20 received the signal of shortage of the balance,the communication adapter 14 may switch the state of the tollboothsignal detection lamp 956 so that the lamp 956 is lighted, and notifythe user by the audio message via the speaker 952 that the car cannotpass through the exclusive tollgate 962. In this way, the user can gointo the general tollgate without interrupting the drive.

[0224] When the user's car enters the exclusive tollgate 962, the sensor964 provided at the entrance of the exclusive tollgate 962 detects asignal from the communication adapter 14 and receives the user'sterminal number of the user's terminal 20 from the communication adapter14. The sensor 964 determines whether or not the communication adapter14 of the user received permission to pass based on the user's terminalnumber, and allows the car to pass in a case where the communicationadapter 14 received the passing permission.

[0225] The communication tower 960 may communicate with the exclusivetollgate 962 by wireless communication or by connection by a privateline, a telephone line or the like. Thus, the exclusive tollgate 962 mayreceive the user's terminal number of the user's terminal 20 of thecommunication adapter 14 that has been permitted to pass by thecommunication tower 960 and check the received user's terminal numberwith the user's terminal number that the sensor 964 received from thecommunication adapter 14.

[0226] In a case where there is no communication means between thecommunication tower 960 and the exclusive tollgate 962, thecommunication tower 960 may transmit the user's terminal number of thecommunication adapter 14 that has been permitted to pass, to the synchroserver 30 so as to make the synchro server 30 store the transmitteduser's terminal number. The exclusive tollgate 962 may transmit to thesynchro server 30 the user's terminal number the sensor 964 receivedfrom the communication adapter 14 so as to make the synchro server 30check the transmitted user's terminal number with the user's terminalnumber that the synchro server 30 received from the communication tower960.

[0227] When the car has passed through the gate, payment information istransmitted to the user's terminal 20 and the synchro server 30 and thebalance of the electronic money stored in the deposit database 56,thereby finishing the communication.

[0228] In a case where a car with no permission to pass or a car thatincludes no electronic money payment apparatus has passed through theexclusive tollgate 962, the sensor 964 detects the passing with nopermission and the monitor camera 966 takes a picture of a car number orthe drivers face, so that the penalty or toll can be demanded later.

[0229] In the above example, the toll is constant. However, in a casewhere the toll is not constant but increases with the distance of thetoll road on which the user drove the car, the user has to start thepayment by electronic money at the tollgate on the start point of thetoll road, to store the start point in the user's terminal 20, and topay the fee in accordance with the distance by electronic money at thetollgate on an exit point of the toll road. In this case, a paymentprocess that is similar to that in the case of the ticket inspector inthe fourth embodiment can be used.

[0230] In the above example, the user's terminal 20 is attached to thecommunication adapter 14. However, the user's terminal 20 may have apart or all of the functions of the communication adapter 14. The user'sterminal 20 may include a detection unit that detects the electric wavesignal transmitted from the communication tower 960, and may start tocommunicate with the communication tower 960 automatically in a casewhere the detection unit detected the electric wave signal from thecommunication tower 960, so as to transmit the user's terminal numberand the reference number and balance of the electronic money to thecommunication tower 960.

[0231] In the above example, the communication tower 960 checks theelectronic money and the balance and gives the user's car the permissionto pass; the exclusive tollgate 962 of the toll booth allows the user'scar to which the permission has been given to pass; and the synchroserver 30 updates the balance of the electronic money of the user whopassed through the exclusive tollgate 962. However, the embodiment ofthe charging system is not limited thereto. The exclusive tollgate 962of the toll booth may perform a part of the functions of thecommunication tower 960. For example, the exclusive tollgate 962 maycommunicate with the user's terminal 20 so as to check the electronicmoney and confirm the balance.

[0232] In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the payment cannot becancelled when the user confirms the paying amount, unlike the firstembodiment. Instead, in the fourth and fifth embodiments, the accountinginformation is displayed on the user's terminal 20 and, immediatelyafter this, the balance of electronic money is updated. In particular,in a case where the car passes through the expressway toll booth, whenthe payment is cancelled, the car cannot pass through the tollgate ofthe toll booth, causing some troubles. Thus, the cancel of the paymentby the user is not preferable. In such a case, only the confirmingprocess of the account information is performed and thereafter thepayment process has to be made to progress.

[0233] However, it is necessary to enable the user to contact themanagement center when the toll is wrong, so that the management centercan deal with this fact later. Thus, it is desirable that the synchroserver 30 record the logs of the user of electronic money in detail.Although only the information indicating the spent amount of theelectronic money is sent from the ticket inspector 12 or thecommunication adapter 14 to the synchro server 30 in the flowchart ofthe payment by electronic money, information such as the date and timeat which the user used electronic money, the name of the station, thename of the tollbooth may be sent in addition to the informationindicating the spent amount so that the synchro server 30 records thehistory of the use of electronic money for the user. In this way, whenthe user contacts the management center with a complaint later, themanagement center can check the use history.

[0234] (Embodiment 6)

[0235] The synchro server 30 as an example of the payment apparatus inthe electronic payment system of the first, second, third, fourth andfifth embodiments may be implemented by a general computer. FIG. 35 is ablock diagram showing an exemplary hardware configuration of the generalcomputer 600. In the computer 600 shown in FIG. 35, a CPU 602 operatesbased on at least one program stored in ROM 604 and RAM 606. Via aninput device 608, an administrator of the synchro server 30 can inputdata and commands. A hard disk drive 610 as an example of a storagedevice stores setting information and the program for the operation ofthe CPU 602.

[0236] A floppy disk drive 614 reads data or program from a floppy disk624 to provide the read data or program to the CPU 602. A CD-ROM drive616 reads data or program from a CD-ROM 626 to provide the read data orprogram to the CPU 602. The first communication interface 618 performsdata transmission/receiving while being connected to the communicationline 18. The second communication interface 620 performs datatransmission/receiving while being connected to the communication line38.

[0237] A database interface 612 can be connected to various types ofdatabase 622 to perform data transmission and data receiving therewith.Moreover, the synchro server 30 has an interface for connecting thesynchro server 30 to a display 628. The administrator can monitor theoperation status of the synchro server 30 and confirm the settinginformation of the synchro server 30 by means of the display 628.

[0238] The software executed by the CPU 602 is provided to the userwhile being stored in a recording medium such as the floppy disk 624 orthe CD-ROM 626. The software stored in the recording medium may becompressed or not-compressed. The software is installed from therecording medium into the hard disk drive 610 and is then read onto theRAM 606, so that the CPU 602 executes the software.

[0239] The program provided while being stored in the recording medium,that is the program to be installed into the hard disk drive 610,functionally includes a storing module, an operation module, a paymentprocessing module, the first communication module, the secondcommunication module, and a database retrieving module.

[0240] The processes that are to be performed by the CPU 602 inaccordance with instructions to the computer 600 from the storingmodule, the operation module, the payment processing module, the firstcommunication module, the second communication module and the databaseretrieving module are the same as the functions and operations of thememory unit 80, the operation unit 81, the payment processing unit 82,the first communication unit 84, the second communication unit 86 andthe database retrieving unit 88 in the synchro server 30 in the first,second, third, fourth and fifth embodiments, respectively, and thereforea detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0241] A part or all of the functions and operations of the synchroserver 30 as an example of the payment apparatus according to all theembodiment described in the present application can be stored in thefloppy disk 624 or the CD-ROM 626 as an example of the recording mediumshown in FIG. 35. Moreover, in a case where a part of the operations ofthe register terminal 10 described in the above embodiments is performedby the synchro server 30 in place of the register terminal 10, the partof the operations of the register terminal 10 can also be stored in thefloppy disk 624 or the D-ROM 626.

[0242] These programs may be read directly into the RAM from therecording medium so as to be executed, or read into the RAM after beinginstalled into the hard disk drive from the recording medium, so as tobe executed. Moreover, the above-mentioned programs may be stored in asingle recording medium or a plurality of recording media. Furthermore,the programs may be stored while being encoded.

[0243] As the recording medium, other than the floppy disk and theCD-ROM, an optical recording medium such as a DVD or a PD, amagneto-optical recording medium such as an MD, a tape-like medium, amagnetic recording medium, or a semiconductor memory such as an IC cardor a miniature card can be used. Moreover, a storage device such as ahard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to an exclusivecommunication network or the Internet may be used as the recordingmedium, so that the program can be provided to the synchro server 30through a communication network. Such a recording medium is used onlyfor manufacturing the synchro server 30 and it is therefore apparentthat the manufacture, sale and the like, of such a recording medium onbusiness constitute infringement of a right based on the presentapplication.

[0244] As described above, according to the electronic payment system ofthe present invention, a user can store electronic money in a hand-heldterminal and can make payments by electronic money with safety andconvenience in various situations, for example, at the retail store, ata place where a vending machine is provided, at the parking feecollecting machine, at the railway ticket inspector, or at the tollbooth of a toll road.

[0245] The electronic payment system of the present invention providesthe user with the following advantages. The user can make payment byelectronic money anywhere and anytime the user buys something bycarrying with the user a mobile phone, that is a communication deviceexcellent in portability. Thus, it is unnecessary to carry cash, acredit card, a cash-card, an IC-money card or the like. Moreover, theuser can confirm the status of direct debit or available balance of theuser's account, shopping history or the like by using a data packetcommunication function of the mobile phone.

[0246] In addition, the electronic payment system provides the retailstore with the following advantage. The burden on the clerk who operatesthe register can be reduced because the payment can be made safely andconveniently by electronic money stored in the mobile phone withoutinquiry of the card number to the credit card company, like in the caseof a credit-card payment. Moreover, no dedicated reader for the creditcard or an IC card that stores electronic money is required, thusreducing the cost of placing such a reader.

[0247] Furthermore, the electronic payment system of the presentinvention provides the credit card company with the following advantage.The electronic payment system using the mobile phone with high securitycan ensure that electronic money is withdrawn from the credit cardaccount, thus preventing unfair use of the withdrawn electronic money.Moreover, the use of electronic money can make issue and management ofthe credit cart unnecessary, so that the cost can be reduced.

[0248] As is apparent from the above, according to the presentinvention, payment on the dealings of goods can be made safely andconveniently by using electronic money.

[0249] Although the present invention has been described by way ofexemplary embodiments, it should be understood that those skilled in theart might make many changes and substitutions without departing from thespirit and the scope of the present invention which is defined only bythe appended claims.

1. An electronic payment system that makes electronic money paymentrelating to a dealing, comprising: a payment terminal operable to storea first balance of electronic money for said electronic money paymentrelating to said dealing; a demanding terminal operable to communicatewith said payment terminal to demand said payment; and a paymentapparatus operable to communicate with said demanding terminal and tostore a second balance of electronic money to correspond to anidentification number of said payment terminal for validating saidpayment, wherein said demanding terminal receives from said paymentterminal said first balance stored in said payment terminal andtransmits said first balance to said payment apparatus, and said paymentapparatus detects unfair use of said electronic money by checking saidfirst balance stored in said payment terminal, which was received fromsaid demanding terminal, with said second balance stored in said paymentapparatus.
 2. An electronic payment system for making payment on adealing by electronic money, comprising: a payment terminal operable tostore a first reference number for electronic money for making paymenton said dealing by said electronic money; a demanding terminal operableto communicate with said payment terminal to demand said payment; and apayment apparatus operable to communicate with said demanding terminaland to store a second reference number to correspond to anidentification number of said payment terminal for allowing settlementof said payment on said dealing, wherein said payment apparatus updatessaid second reference number in accordance with a predetermined updaterule, said payment terminal receives said update rule of said secondreference number from said payment apparatus and updates said firstreference number in accordance with said update rule, and in a casewhere said demanding terminal received from said payment terminal saidfirst reference number stored in said payment terminal and thentransmitted said first reference number to said payment apparatus, saidpayment apparatus checks said first reference number, received from saiddemanding terminal, with said second reference number stored in saidpayment apparatus to detect unfair use of said electronic money.
 3. Apayment apparatus that communicates with a payment terminal and ademanding terminal to make settlement on an electronic money payment fora dealing, the payment terminal being operable to store an electronicmoney balance for making payment on the dealing by the electronic money,the demanding terminal being operable to demand the payment on thedealing, the payment apparatus comprising: a memory unit operable tostore a check balance of said electronic money to correspond to anidentification number of said payment terminal; a communication unitoperable to receive, from said demanding terminal, a payment amount ofsaid electronic money to be paid by said payment terminal; and aprocessor operable to update said check balance of said electronic moneystored in said memory unit based on said payment amount received fromsaid demanding terminal.
 4. A payment apparatus as claimed in claim 3,wherein, in a case where said communication unit received from saidpayment terminal a deposit-requested amount of said electronic money,said processor updates said check balance stored in said memory unitbased on said deposit-requested amount, and said communication unittransmits a new balance, obtained by said update, to said paymentterminal.
 5. A payment apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein saidcommunication unit receives the electronic money balance for makingpayment on the dealing, when said deposit-requested amount of saidelectronic money is received from said payment terminal, and saidprocessor compares said electronic money balance said communication unitreceived from said payment terminal with said check balance stored insaid memory unit, transmits said new balance to said communication unitwhen said compared balances coincide, and notifies a manager of saidpayment apparatus of a warning indicating a possibility of unfair usewhen said compared balances do not coincide.
 6. A payment apparatus asclaimed in claim 3, wherein said communication unit receives from saiddemanding terminal the electronic money balance for making payment onthe dealing, which is notified from said payment terminal, when saidcommunication unit receives, from said demanding terminal, said paymentamount to be paid by said payment terminal, and said processor comparessaid electronic money balance said communication unit received from saiddemanding terminal with said check balance stored in said memory unit,updates said check balance stored in said memory unit when said comparedbalances coincide, and notifies a manager of said payment apparatus of awarning indicating a possibility of unfair use when said comparedbalances do not coincide.
 7. A payment apparatus as claimed in claim 3,wherein, in a case where said communication unit received a balanceinquiry request from said payment terminal together with the electronicmoney balance for making payment on the dealing, said processor comparessaid electronic money balance said communication unit received from saidpayment terminal with said check balance stored in said memory unit, andtransmits a warning indicating a possibility of unfair use when saidcompared balances do not coincide.
 8. A payment apparatus as claimed inclaim 3, wherein said communication unit transmits a balance inquiryrequest to said payment terminal and receives the electronic moneybalance for making payment on the dealing from said payment terminal,and said processor compares said electronic money balance saidcommunication unit received from said payment terminal with said checkbalance stored in said memory unit, and notifies a manager of saidpayment apparatus of a warning indicating a possibility of unfair usewhen said compared balances do not coincide.
 9. A payment apparatus asclaimed in claim 4, wherein said memory unit stores a term of validityin relation to said electronic money, and in a case where saidcommunication unit received said payment amount of said electronic moneyfrom said demanding terminal, said processor does not update said checkbalance of said electronic money stored in said memory unit based onsaid payment amount, and notifies a manager of said payment apparatus ofa warning indicating a possibility of unfair use, when a time that haspassed after a start time, at which said communication unit transmitted,to said payment terminal, said new balance of said electronic moneybased on said deposit-requested amount, has gone beyond said term ofvalidity.
 10. A payment apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein saidmemory unit stores an update time in relation to said electronic moneyat which said check balance of said electronic money was last updatedbased on a previous payment amount, and in a case where saidcommunication unit received said payment amount from said demandingterminal, said processor does not update said check balance of saidelectronic money when a predetermined time has not passed after saidupdate time based on said previous payment amount.
 11. A paymentapparatus that communicates with a payment terminal and a demandingterminal to make settlement on an electronic money payment for adealing, the payment terminal being operable to store a check referencenumber for the electronic money for making payment on the dealing, thedemanding terminal being operable to demand the payment on the dealing,the payment apparatus comprising: a memory unit operable to store areference number of said electronic money to correspond to anidentification number of said payment terminal; an operation unitoperable to update said reference number in accordance with apredetermined update rule; a communication unit operable to receive,from said demanding terminal, said check reference number of saidelectronic money, which said demanding terminal was notified from saidpayment terminal; and a processor operable to compare said referencenumber stored in said memory unit with said check reference numberreceived from said demanding terminal to validate said electronic money.12. A payment apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein, in a case wheresaid communication unit received a deposit request for said electronicmoney from said payment terminal, said communication unit transmits saidupdate rule for updating said reference number to said payment terminal.13. A payment apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said update ruleuniquely determines said reference number based on an initial value andtime information to provide different reference numbers for differentinitial values or different time information.
 14. A payment apparatus asclaimed in claim 13, wherein said time information is a time that haspassed after a start time at which said communication unit transmittedsaid update rule to said payment terminal.
 15. A payment apparatus asclaimed in claim 14, wherein said initial value is an irrational number,and said update rule selects a number at a decimal place of saidirrational number as said reference number, said decimal place beingdetermined based on said time information.
 16. A payment apparatus asclaimed in claim 12, wherein said memory unit stores a numbercorresponding to the number of times said payment terminal performeddealings using said electronic money, said number being stored tocorrespond to said identification number of said payment terminal, andsaid update rule uniquely determines said reference number based on aninitial number and said number of times said payment terminal performeddealings in such a manner that said reference number is different whensaid initial value or said number of times is changed.
 17. A paymentapparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said memory unit stores a termof validity of said electronic money, and in a case where said term ofvalidity has expired, said operation unit changes said update rule, saidcommunication unit transmits said changed update rule to said paymentterminal, and said processor updates said term of validity stored insaid memory unit.
 18. A recording medium storing a computer program thatenables communication with a payment terminal and a demanding terminalfor making settlement on an electronic money payment for a dealing, thepayment terminal being operable to store an electronic money balance formaking payment on the dealing, the demanding terminal being operable todemand the payment on the dealing, the program comprising: a storingmodule that enables a computer to store a check balance of saidelectronic money to correspond to an identification number of saidpayment terminal; a communication module that enables the computer toreceive, from said demanding terminal, a payment amount of saidelectronic money to be paid by said payment terminal; and a processingmodule that enables the computer to update said check balance of saidelectronic money based on said payment amount received from saiddemanding terminal, wherein said communication module enables thecomputer to receive the electronic money balance from said paymentterminal when receiving a deposit-requested amount of said electronicmoney from said payment terminal, and said processing module enables thecomputer to compare said electronic money balance received from saidpayment terminal with said check balance, transmit a new balanceobtained by said update when said compared balances coincide, and notifya manager of the computer of a warning indicating a possibility ofunfair use of said electronic money.
 19. A recording medium storing acomputer program for enabling communication with a payment terminal anda demanding terminal to make settlement on an electronic money dealing,the payment terminal being operable to store a check reference number ofelectronic money for making payment on the dealing by the electronicmoney, the demanding terminal being operable to demand the payment onthe dealing, the program comprising: a storing module that instructs acomputer to store a reference number of said electronic money tocorrespond to an identification number of said payment terminal; anoperation module that instructs said computer to update said storedreference number in accordance with a predetermined update rule; acommunication module that instructs said computer to receive from saiddemanding terminal said check reference number of said electronic money,which said demanding terminal was notified from said payment terminal;and a processing module that instructs said computer to compare saidstored reference number with said check reference number received fromsaid demanding terminal to validate said electronic money, wherein saidupdate rule uniquely determines said stored reference number based on aninitial value and time information in such a manner that said storedreference number is changed when said initial value or said timeinformation is changed.
 20. A demanding terminal that communicates witha payment apparatus, which settles electronic money payment on adealing, and a payment terminal, which makes electronic money payment onthe dealing, the demanding terminal, which demands the payment on thedealing, comprising: a first communication unit operable to communicatewith said payment terminal and to receive a check reference number ofsaid electronic money from said payment terminal; a second communicationunit operable to communicate with said payment apparatus, to transmitsaid check reference number of said electronic money to said paymentapparatus, and to receive a result of a validation of said electronicmoney; and a processor operable to calculate a payment amount of saidelectronic money to be paid by said payment terminal and to make saidsecond communication unit send said payment amount to said paymentapparatus, in a case where said second communication unit received asignal indicating that said validation of said electronic money wassuccessful.
 21. A demanding terminal as claimed in claim 20, whereinsaid processor makes said first communication unit send said paymentamount to said payment terminal in a case where said secondcommunication unit received said signal indicating that said validationof said electronic money was successful, and said processor makes saidsecond communication unit send said payment amount to said paymentapparatus in a case where said first communication unit received aconfirmation signal for said payment amount from said payment terminal.22. A demanding terminal as claimed in claim 21, wherein said firstcommunication unit receives, from said payment terminal, an electronicmoney balance, for making electronic money payment on the dealing,stored in said payment terminal, and said second communication unitsends said electronic money balance stored in said payment terminal tosaid payment apparatus for validating said electronic money balancestored in said payment terminal with a check balance for said electronicmoney, stored in said payment apparatus.
 23. A demanding terminal asclaimed in claim 22, wherein said first communication unit communicateswith said payment terminal by optical communication or short-distancecommunication to receive from said payment terminal an identificationnumber for identifying said payment on the dealing, and said secondcommunication unit communicates with said payment apparatus via atelephone line or a private communication line to send saididentification number to said payment apparatus.
 24. A demandingterminal as claimed in claim 23, wherein, in a case where said firstcommunication unit received from said payment terminal informationregarding a start point, at which a user of said payment terminalstarted to use said electronic money, said processor calculates thepayment amount based on a distance moved by said user from said startpoint.
 25. A payment terminal for communicating with a paymentapparatus, which is operable to store a balance of electronic money formaking settlement on a dealing by the electronic money, and a demandingterminal, which is operable to demand the payment on the dealing, thepayment terminal, which makes the electronic money payment on thedealing, comprising: a first communication unit operable to communicatewith said payment apparatus and to receive, from said payment apparatus,said balance of said electronic money stored in said payment apparatus;a memory unit operable to store said balance of said electronic moneyreceived by said first communication unit; a second communication unitoperable to communicate with said demanding terminal and to receive apayment amount of said electronic money from said demanding terminal;and a processor operable to update said balance of said electronic moneystored in said memory unit based on said payment amount.
 26. A paymentterminal as claimed in claim 25, wherein said first communication unitreceives said balance of said electronic money from said paymentapparatus in a case where a deposit-requested amount of said electronicmoney was sent to said payment apparatus.
 27. A payment terminal asclaimed in claim 26, wherein said second communication unit sends saidbalance stored in said memory unit to said payment apparatus forvalidating said balance, when sending said deposit-requested amount ofsaid electronic money to said payment apparatus, and receives a newbalance from said payment apparatus in a case where said validation ofsaid balance was successful.
 28. A payment terminal as claimed in claim27, wherein said second communication unit sends said balance stored insaid memory unit to said payment apparatus when a predetermined time haspassed after a time at which said new balance was received from saidpayment apparatus, and receives a result of said validation of saidbalance.
 29. A payment terminal as claimed in claim 27, wherein saidmemory unit stores a term of validity of said electronic money, and saidprocessor notifies a user of said payment terminal that said electronicmoney is unavailable in a case where a time that has passed after astart time, at which said second communication unit received said newbalance from said payment apparatus, has gone beyond said term ofvalidity.
 30. A payment terminal that communicates with a paymentapparatus and a demanding terminal to make payment on a dealing usingelectronic money, the payment apparatus stores a reference number of theelectronic money for making settlement on the dealing by electronicmoney, the demanding terminal demands the payment on the dealing, thepayment terminal comprising: a memory unit operable to store a checkreference number of said electronic money; a first communication unitoperable to communicate with said payment apparatus and to receive fromsaid payment apparatus an update rule for updating said check referencenumber stored in said memory unit; an operation unit operable to updatesaid check reference number stored in said memory unit in accordancewith said update rule; and a second communication unit operable tocommunicate with said demanding terminal and to send said checkreference number, after being updated by said operation unit, to saiddemanding terminal.
 31. A payment terminal as claimed in claim 30,wherein said first communication unit receives from said paymentapparatus said update rule for updating said check reference number in acase where a deposit-requested amount of said electronic money is sentto said payment apparatus.
 32. A payment terminal as claimed in claim31, wherein said update rule uniquely determines said check referencenumber based on an initial value and time information in such a mannerthat said check reference number is changed when said initial value ortime information is changed.
 33. A payment terminal as claimed in claim32, wherein said time information is a time period that has passed aftera time at which said update rule was received by said firstcommunication unit.
 34. A payment terminal as claimed in claim 33,wherein said initial value is an irrational number, and said update ruleselects a number at a decimal place of said irrational number as saidcheck reference number, said decimal place being determined based onsaid time information.
 35. A payment terminal as claimed in claim 31,wherein said memory unit stores a number of times that dealings usingsaid electronic money were performed, and said update rule uniquelydetermines said check reference number based on an initial value andsaid number of times that dealings were performed in such a manner thatsaid check reference number is changed when said initial value or saidnumber of times is changed.
 36. A payment terminal as claimed in claim30, wherein said memory unit stores a term of validity of saidelectronic money, and in a case where said term of validity has expired,said first communication unit sends a change request for said updaterule to said payment apparatus and receives a changed update rule fromsaid payment apparatus, while said operation unit updates said term ofvalidity stored in said memory unit.
 37. A payment terminal as claimedin claim 25 or 30, wherein said first communication unit communicateswith said payment apparatus by wireless telecommunication, and saidsecond communication unit communicates with said demanding terminal byoptical communication or short-distance wireless communication to sendan identification number for identifying said payment terminal to saiddemanding terminal.
 38. A payment terminal as claimed in claim 25 or 30,wherein said second communication unit receives from said demandingterminal start point information regarding a start point at which a userof said payment terminal starts to use said electronic money, saidmemory unit stores said start point information, and said secondcommunication unit sends said start point information to said demandingterminal so that said payment amount is calculated based on a distancemoved by said user from said start point, in a case where said userfinishes using said electronic money.
 39. A communication adapter, towhich a payment terminal for making electronic money payment on adealing is attached, whereby the payment terminal communicates with acharging system for a toll road, the communication adapter comprising: adetection unit operable to detect an electric wave signal transmittedfrom said charging system; and a control unit operable to make saidpayment terminal, attached to said communication adapter, communicatewith said charging system by wireless communication to send saidcharging system a check reference number of electronic money stored insaid payment terminal for validation of said electronic money, in a casewhere said electric signal from said charging system was detected.
 40. Acommunication adapter as claimed in claim 39, further comprising a soundnotification unit operable to generate a first sound for notifying aresult of said validation of said electronic money, in a case where saidresult of said validation of said electronic money was received fromsaid charging system.
 41. A communication adapter as claimed in claim40, wherein said payment terminal sends a balance of said electronicmoney to said charging system, and said sound notification unitgenerates a second sound for notifying a shortage of said balance ofsaid electronic money, in a case where the shortage of said balance wasnotified from said charging system.
 42. A payment terminal forcommunicating with a charging system of a toll road to pay toll byelectronic money, comprising: a memory unit operable to store a checkreference number of said electronic money; a detection unit operable todetect an electric wave signal transmitted from said charging system;and a communication unit operable to communicate with said chargingsystem to send said check reference number, stored in said memory unit,to said charging system, in a case where said detection unit detectedsaid electric wave signal.